A Place For Us
by stripesandpandas
Summary: Brittany has been alone her entire life. Santana's life has been the exact opposite. Santana has everything Brittany ever wanted; the brains, two loving parents, and admirers. When something completely unexpected changes a life forever, can these two girls from different worlds find friendship and a little something more along the way?
1. Prologue: Enter Brittany Pierce

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Glee, if I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfics, I'd be making all of this actually happen.**

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Prologue: Enter Brittany Pierce

Nearly everyone in William McKinley High School knew who Brittany Pierce was, but they all saw her as this stupid, child-like idiot with a brain the size of a grain of rice. They all treated her horribly. The bullying and name calling started in the second grade and it got so bad that her teacher wanted to have a conference with Brittany's parents. But the thing is, Brittany doesn't have any parents. Her mother died after childbirth and her father died of cancer 5 years later, and with no relatives living anywhere near, Brittany was to be left at an orphanage.

Since Lima, Ohio was a small town and there being far more children running around than adults, not many people came to the orphanage looking to adopt, and when they did Brittany always ended up crying because she didn't want new parents, she wanted her own. Apparently no one was looking to adopt a crybaby and after awhile, the workers at the orphanage deemed her as a lost cause and stopped setting her up for interviews with adults, leaving Brittany to spend her entire life stuck in the orphanage.

All of the other children teased her because she would always cry and that prompted her to leave the orphanage as soon as she could, though not with strangers. As time passed, Brittany grew older and managed to get multiple jobs from a bagger at grocery stores to a waiter at restaurants. From her paychecks, to her tips and all of the spare change she found outside on sidewalks or stuck in between couch cushions, Brittany saved everything she had, right down to her last dime.

When Brittany was 16, she went on a search for an apartment and it was months before she found the cheapest one she could; and old, raggedy one-room apartment in an old, raggedy apartment complex. She told the workers at the orphanage that she wanted to move in with a friend from school who was 18 and had their own job, but needed help with the rent because she didn't think they would let her leave on her own while she was still a minor.

They let her leave, saying she and her friend were old enough to take care of themselves and with the two of them both having jobs, they shouldn't have too many financial problems, though Brittany thought they were just happy to finally get rid of her. Nevertheless, Brittany moved out days later. Living on her own wasn't so bad, paying the rent was simple, seeing as the apartment was a dump and wasn't worth much. She usually had enough money left over to buy her enough food to last her a week or so and when things were tight, she didn't mind eating 40 cent packages of ramen noodles until things got better.

Ever since Brittany was young, she craved for people to acknowledge her as someone other than a daffy idiot. Everyone always asked her how she even managed to make it to high school, but she never answered them, because frankly, she didn't have the answer. She tried doing well in class, but her memory wasn't the best and she always forgot the important things.

Brittany was always overshadowed in class by many people, but by one girl in particular. Santana Lopez. Santana Lopez was the perfect definition of a genius. Her parents were doctors who always made her study as much as possible. To them, anything below an A minus was failing, but needless to say, Santana lived up to their expectations.

You'd think that with Santana's brains, people would tease her too, calling her a nerd or a geek and such, but that's not the case with Santana. Because of her intelligence, there's always an incredibly witty sarcastic comment up her sleeve reserved for the people who even think of teasing her. Eventually, people gave up trying to insult her because she was too smart for them and they'd always end up being the ones standing in the middle of a hallway, looking like a loser.

After time, people begun to use Santana's intelligence to their advantage, always asking her for help and tutoring. Of course, she never told them no and willingly helped them. Apparently, spending most of her time teaching others wasn't a problem for her. Many people seemed to praise Santana for her knowledge and help. Brittany was not one of those people.

Brittany would never admit it, but she envied Santana. She envied how smart Santana was. She envied how well-liked Santana was. But most of all, she envied Santana's family. Nearly all of the parents in Lima, Ohio were divorced, but not Mr. and Mrs. Lopez. They were happily in love and had a daughter who they cared deeply for. Santana had everything Brittany didn't and because of that, Brittany envied her and after time, Brittany turned her envy into competitive anger and became determined to outrank Santana in any way she could.

Santana caught on to Brittany's actions, but she didn't see Brittany as a real threat, so she never made any attempt to acknowledge her, thus making Brittany even more angry. Any chance she could get, Brittany would try to complete her assignments before Santana did and try to get better grades, but she never did.

All of her classmates laughed and teased her every time she answered a question wrong and laughed even harder at her terrible attempts to beat Santana academically. Another thing Brittany would never admit is that all the teasing does get to her. There were nights where she would stay up in bed, trying to stop the tears from falling out of her eyes and there were other nights where she would walk to an old park she discovered after she moved into her apartment and sit on a lone swing that descended from a giant tree branch thinking about how different she wanted her life to be.

One night, Brittany was sitting on the swing, slowly rocking back and forth when she looked up at the dark sky and saw a shooting star. She knew that making wishes were childish, but who knows, maybe this one could actually come true. She searched her brain for mere second before closing her eyes and making her wish. After the shooting star disappeared, Brittany got up from the swing and started walking back home with a slight spring in her step.

She was sick of all the rude people. Sick of all the mean comments. Sick of all the teasing. Sick of it all. At that moment, she vowed to do everything within her power to make all of it go away.

Brittany Pierce was not an idiot and she would prove that to Santana Lopez, to her school, to everyone.

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**AN: Okay, so that's it for the prologue. Hope everyone found that somewhat satisfactory and if you find anything wrong with this story, please tell me so I can make it better, I plan to make this story as great as I can. Thanks for reading and please review!**


	2. Leaves In The Wind

**AN: Yay, new chapter! Sorry, I took so long, I hardly had any free time with school and it's ridiculous notion of giving out more homework than normal.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Glee**

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Leaves in the Wind

"_So, who can tell me what the capital of Paraguay is?"_

_A tall woman with round glasses asked to the class of students sitting in front of her. One girl with long hair raised her hand._

_The teacher looked at the girl eagerly. _

"_Yes, Santana?"_

"_The capital of Paraguay is Asuncion, Ms. Lawrence."_

"_Correct! Thank you, Santana," Ms. Lawrence said with a sincere smile. Santana smiled back before returning her gaze back to her notes._

_A girl behind Santana frowned and narrowed her eyes slightly._

_Ms. Lawrence looked back at her students before asking another question._

"_Now, who can tell me what the capital of Switzerland is?" _

_The girl behind Santana raised her hand. Ms. Lawrence seemed to purposely ignore her hand and looked around the room. Unfortunately for her, no one else was volunteering, so she had no other choice but to acknowledge the one girl with her hand up._

"_Yes, Brittany," Ms. Lawrence said with an audible sigh._

"_The capital of Switzerland is, um...Columbus?"_

_There were several snickers and giggles from amongst her peers in response to her answer._

"_No, Brittany," Ms. Lawrence rubbed her temple, "Columbus is the capital of Ohio, you should know that seeing as you've lived here your entire life."_

"_Wow, that girl is such an idiot," someone said from behind her, and of course, she heard. It wasn't as if said person had bothered to keep their voice down. No one ever did._

"_To clear up Brittany's mistake, the capital of Switzerland is Berne, not Columbus. Now to move on…" Ms. Lawrence turned back to the board and returned to the lesson. Meanwhile, Brittany sunk down in her chair, a gloomy expression in her eyes, and did not raise her hand again for the rest of the class._

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It was the end of the school day and Brittany was headed out the door when several voices stopped her.

"Hey, Pierce! Could you tell me what the capital of Ohio is?" The first voice said.

A second voice spoke, "You know, I don't think she can. She might get it mixed up with the capital of Switzerland."

"I think you guys are giving her too much credit. She probably thinks the capital of Ohio is O," a third voice said, followed by loud laughter.

Brittany sighed, rolling her eyes and continued to leave the building, ignoring her fellow peers. She had been getting teased all day for what she said earlier in class. She didn't see what the big deal was, it was an honest mistake, everyone makes them, but apparently Brittany was the only person at McKinley that would get judged every time she said or did something wrong.

Brittany walked out of the school and started heading down the familiar path of the sidewalk. She didn't have a car like all of the other students her age. Since most of her money went into the bills and groceries, she couldn't afford one, so she walked and usually rode the bus everywhere she needed to go. Today, she forgot her bus pass at home, so she had to walk home, which was fine. Her apartment wasn't too far away.

Brittany continued walking and out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the one and only Santana Lopez. The very person she was trying to show up in class was a mere ten feet away from her. Brittany, for whatever reason, stopped in her tracks and watched as Santana dumped her things into the backseat of her expensive-looking car. Then, as she was closing the back door, she looked up and saw Brittany. Their eyes locked for a split second before Brittany quickly averted her gaze and started walking again, yet at a faster pace.

Brittany arrived at her apartment twenty minutes later and walked in, dumping her bag on the floor she went into the kitchen and opened the fridge (that didn't have many contents in it) and took out a half filled water bottle. Drinking from the bottle, Brittany walked over to her bed, which wasn't much of a bed, but actually a lone mattress on the floor with a few sheets, and plopped down on it.

She looked at the clock on her wall and saw that it was almost four o'clock, which meant that she had a couple of hours before she had to be at work. Brittany liked where she worked. A few months ago, she was able to get a job at a new pizza place called The Pizza Domain. It paid well, plus her boss, Jonathan, was really nice to her. Jonathan was probably the only person in Lima who didn't think she was a complete failure, which was the main reason she loved going to work everyday.

Brittany downed the rest of the water and lay back on the mattress, closing her eyes. She could use a small nap before she had to leave out again.

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Santana was lying down on her stomach on her bed, staring idly at her laptop when her mother came in.

"So, Santana…"

Santana looked up from her laptop and raised an eyebrow at her mother.

"So, mom…"

Mrs. Lopez rolled her eyes and sat down next to her daughter.

"Your father and I are going out for dinner. We're going to that new pizza place uptown. One of my patients recommended it to me today while I was putting a cast on his broken arm. Apparently, he owns the place."

Santana let out a small laugh, "You guys are doctors, I would think that you'd go out for fancier dishes than pizza."

"Hey, even doctors like to be casual every once in a while," Mrs. Lopez grinned. "Would you like to join us?"

Santana sighed.

"I would love to, but I have to get this psychology essay done."

"I understand," said Mrs. Lopez while running a hand through her daughter's hair. "Well, there's food in the fridge for you to eat if you get hungry. Your father and I will be back in a few hours."

"Alright, bye mom. Bye, dad!" Santana called out, although she doubted her dad heard her.

Mrs. Lopez left Santana's room and headed downstairs. Santana heard the muffled sounds of her parents talking, and heard the front door close. She then went back to her essay.

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"Hey, Blondie!"

Brittany smiled as she entered The Pizza Domain and heard her boss calling out to her. She walked over to the front counter and sat down on a stool in front of him.

"Hi, Jonathan," Brittany said. She looked down and noticed that he had a cast on his left arm and glanced back up at him curiously. "What happened?"

"Ah, I was replacing one of the lights up above when I fell off the ladder, onto my arm here. It's nothing too serious; the doctor said I'll be fine in about a month."

"You're such a klutz, Jonathan."

"Yeah, I've heard that my entire life," he reached over and tousled her hair, Brittany then slapped his hand away. "Now, get your pen and notepad. You're on waiting duty tonight."

"You got it, boss," Brittany smiled and jokingly saluted him, before running to get her things.

After about an hour of waiting tables, Brittany was sitting down in the staff break room, flipping through a magazine, when Jonathan walked in.

"Hey, Britt, guess what! The doctor I went to see about my arm is here with her husband. I already seated them at table seven, but they need a waiter, so go on and get out there."

Brittany closed the magazine and stood up.

"I'm on it," she said as she grabbed her pen and notepad and headed out the break room over to table seven. When she got to their table she realized that the two customers looked very familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Hello, my name is Brittany and I'll be your waitress for the evening. What can I get you?"

The woman looked up at her and grinned.

"Hello, Brittany. My husband and I would both like a medium pepperoni pizza."

Brittany quickly wrote it down on her notepad.

"Right, and drinks?"

"I'll take a diet coke," said the man.

"And, I'll just have a water," said the woman.

"Alright, I'll be back soon with your order." Brittany went behind the counter and gave one of the cooks the order, then went back into the break room and sat down next to Jonathan who took over her vacant seat while she was out.

"So, is it just a coincidence that the doctor you went to see today decided to come eat here or did you manage to slip one of your infamous recommendations into conversation?"

Jonathan chuckled and shrugged. "Hey, you know me. I'd never pass the opportunity to up business."

"Right, okay," Brittany grinned. "Well, I should probably get back out there. I wouldn't want to ruin the good recommendation you gave with bad service."

Brittany got up and left once more and found that her order was ready. She put the pizza and drinks on a tray and walked back over to table seven. She set the contents of the tray down on the table then stuck the tray under her arm.

"There's your medium pepperoni pizza and your diet coke and water." Brittany smiled at the pair. "Let me know if you'd like anything else."

"Thank you, Brittany, but this will be all for us today," said the man.

"Okay, I'll be back later with your bill."

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It was late when Brittany arrived home from work. It hadn't been that bad, she hadn't gotten any orders wrong, none of the people from school were there, abusing their power with her as their waitress, plus the doctor that Jonathan talked into coming gave her a decent tip.

For some reason, Brittany couldn't get the older couple out of her head. They looked incredibly familiar and she had wondered if she'd seen them somewhere before. She lay back on her bed, exhausted, and pushed the thought of the two out of her head before slipping into a deep sleep.

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**So, that's it for now. I'll be honest and say that this chapter didn't turn out exactly how I wanted, but with the limited amount of time I had, I tried to make it okay. As always, please read and review!**


	3. For What It's Worth

**AN: Update y'all!**

**Disclaimer: Glee. Not mine.**

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For What It's Worth

"Alright class, before we go, I would like to discuss your next major grade. It will be a project on ancient Greece. You will need to pick a certain topic about ancient Greece, make a poster board, and write an essay explaining the poster."

Several students groaned. Ms. Lawrence rolled her eyes and continued with what she was saying.

"This project will be due two weeks from today. You may work by yourself or with a partner, either way, I expect _quality _work."

Brittany thought she saw Ms. Lawrence glare in her direction with that last sentence, but the blonde didn't even bother feeling offended, because at that moment the bell rang. She clumsily gathered her things and walked out the door.

Focused only on her bag which she was stuffing her notebooks and folders into, Brittany paid little attention to where she was going and ended up crashing into someone, dropping one of her folders in the process.

"Oh, I'm so sorr-"

"Damn, Pierce, would you watch it? You may be dumb, but I know you're not blind."

The guy she had bumped into gave her a cold look and walked off. Brittany sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She was exhausted. It had rained hard during the night and the thunder, which she had always been terrified of, had kept her awake.

She felt that she would pass out at any minute, the school day wasn't even near being over and all she wanted to do was to get home and sleep. Brittany stifled a yawn behind her hand and made her way to her next class as fast as she could so she wouldn't get yelled at for being late.

"Well, Ms. Pierce? Where is your essay?"

Brittany's English teacher, Mr. Rice, was standing in front of her desk with his arms crossed tightly against his chest, staring down at her as she looked through her bag for her English essay.

"I know it's in here…" Brittany continued searching through her bag for the folder that contained her essay. She spent _hours_ working on it, making sure that there were no mistakes. It had been absolutely perfect, and now it was gone.

Mr. Rice rubbed his temple. "Ms. Pierce, you are wasting my time, your time, and your fellow classmates' time. Since it's obvious you failed to complete your essay, I suggest you turn it in tomorrow with a late pass."

"But, I swear I…it was right in here, I don't understand how…"

"Not now, Ms. Pierce. I have a class to teach." And with that, he walked to the front of the room to start on his lecture, but before he had the chance to, Brittany stood up from her desk with tears in her eyes and her things in hand and headed towards the door.

"Excuse me, Ms. Pierce, but-"

Whatever Mr. Rice had begun to say, Brittany didn't wait for him to finish it for she had walked out of the classroom, closing the door with force. She walked down the hallway, wiping her eyes and didn't stop. She didn't know where her legs were taking her, but it didn't matter. She only had one thought on her mind. _Get away. _

After walking around for a bit, Brittany found herself sitting at the back of the library, pretending to read some random book she picked up on her way to a table. She gazed at the same page for quite some time. Staring at the words, she suddenly remembered how exhausted she was and felt her eyes droop. She fought to keep her eyes open, but everything else seemed to quickly fade out. Soon the power of sleep overcame her.

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"Damn, Pierce, would you watch it? You may be dumb, but I know you're not blind."

Santana watched as that Brittany girl crashed into some guy who was walking in front of her. She watched as the blonde tried to apologize, but was cut off. She watched as Brittany's face fell as whoever it was she bumped into gave her a menacing look before walking away.

It wasn't a false statement that Santana never paid much attention to Brittany, but she didn't think it was fair how poorly the girl was treated. Sure, she wasn't very bright and yeah, Santana quickly caught on to Brittany's oh so obvious attempts of trying to one up her, but she didn't see why everyone made sure to make Brittany's life hell. People were just ridiculous sometimes.

Santana noticed that Brittany had walked off and she was about to do the same when she saw a lime green folder with the initials BSP written onto it. _Brittany._ She must have dropped it when she bumped into that guy. Santana bent down to pick it up.

One of the papers that had been in the folder was sticking halfway out of it. She briefly looked at it and recognized it as an essay on comparing oral and digital media. She had had to turn in the same essay during her first period English class and from the looks of it, Brittany had yet to do so.

_Well, she's obviously going to need this to turn in so she doesn't make a fool out of herself, _Santana thought to herself. Problem is…how was Santana supposed to return Brittany's folder if she had no idea where the blonde was right now. Santana tucked the folder under her arm and hurried off to her next class. _I'll figure it out._

Santana's last class seemed to go by in no time. She now had a study period and was on her way to the library to check out a Psychology book she needed to complete an assignment. She walked inside the school library and sent a quick wave in the librarian's direction then headed to the back of the library where she knew the book would be.

She was just about to round a corner when she heard the sound of soft snores. She looked to the side where the snores were coming from and saw a girl with her head down on a desk, fast asleep, with wavy blonde hair that looked oddly familiar.

"Um, hello…" Santana awkwardly moved over to the girl, being as light on her feet as she could. She made her way around to the girl's face.

"Sorry to bother you, but-_oh."_

Sitting in front of her, was the very girl who she had meant to look for earlier. She considered shaking Brittany Pierce awake, but it was pretty clear that she was exhausted. Hell, she looked more worn out than Santana had ever seen a person be. Santana quietly set her bag on the table and pulled out Brittany's lime green folder and set it next to her.

Santana turned to go, but hesitated and turned back around. She pulled out a pen and a piece of paper from her bag and quickly scribbled something down on it. She stuck the piece of paper in the folder, then left the blonde to her sleep and went to go find her book.

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"Excuse me, young lady. You need to wake up."

The voice seemed to get louder with each word, like someone was turning up the volume on a television. Brittany's eyes fluttered open. She slowly sat up and took in her surroundings. She was in the library with a librarian standing over her. She remembered "reading" a book and by the looks of it, she had fallen asleep.

"Oh, I'm sorry for falling asleep, Miss," Brittany rubbed her eyes and looked over to the old woman standing next to her.

"Mhmm. Don't apologize to me, apologize to your teacher whose class you slept through." With that, she walked away.

Brittany groaned. She didn't want to go back to class, but she knew she should.

It wasn't until Brittany started to gather her things when she noticed the folder on the desk that was not there before. She picked it up and looked around, perhaps thinking that whoever put it there would show up. She felt herself smile, even though she was more than confused. She opened it to see if her essay was in there, which she knew it would be, but stopped when she saw a sheet of paper with unfamiliar handwriting on it.

Even though she had no idea who it was from, she started to read it.

_I saw you drop this in the hallway and I noticed you forgot to pick it up. I thought you might want it back seeing as that essay in there seems important. I guess it was luck that I saw you in here, because I made it my full intention to return this to you. Lime green is a nice color by the way._

Brittany read over the letter multiple times. It wasn't much, but at least someone had the decency to return her folder to her instead of ripping it up and flushing it down the toilet like she knew so many people would think of doing.

She put the folder in her bag and got up from the desk, heading out the library and to class, but instead of feeling miserable like she did beforehand, she actually had a grin on her face.

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**So, I kinda liked this chapter, but please tell me what YOU think! :)**

**Oh, and a little heads up, next chapter, the angst officially starts, but which character will it effect...**

**Next chapter may or may not end with a cliff hanger, though, so just putting that out there. **

**And, as always please REVIEW.**


	4. Putting the Puzzle Together

**AN: Okay, I'm so so so so so so so so so sorry for the unbelievably long wait. Literally right after I posted the last chapter, my laptop broke so I haven't been able to type anything and I did this chapter as best as I could with the limited features on my phone. And another thing, if you haven't noticed, yes I did change the bio of this story and I may change the title to something that makes a bit more sense because when I came up with the current title, it was 2 a.m and I was exhausted from writing. So, anyway please enjoy!**

Putting the Puzzle Together

_"I saw you drop this in the hallway and I noticed you forgot to pick it up. I thought you might want it back seeing as that essay in there seems important. I guess it was luck that I saw you in here, because I made it my full intention to return this to you. Lime green is a nice color by the way."_

Brittany must have reread the note about a thousand times. The fact that someone had gone out of their way to return her folder to her made her face light up. It had to be the nicest thing anyone at school had done for her. She just wished she knew who had done it, she couldn't think of one person who would.

The anonymous note writer was all she could think about, she had even told Jonathan about it. It was probably silly to be this hung up on a simple four-sentenced note, but to Brittany, it was more than just something simple.

It was...incredible

"Ms. Pierce, if I have to tell you one more time to pay attention, I will send you to Principal Figgins."

Brittany snapped her head up from her desk and met Ms. Lawrence's stone cold gaze.

"Uh, sorry," Brittany said half-heartedly; she didn't really mean it.

"You were sorry the other two times I caught you staring off into space. Now stop messing around before you end up failing my class more so than you already are."

Brittany felt her lip tremble slightly. "Okay," she mumbled.

Ms. Lawrence went back to the lesson whereas Brittany, despite what her teacher had just said, looked down at her desk again. She was aware of the other students around her snickering at her humiliation. Brittany ignored the build up of tears from behind her eyelids. She would not - she _could not - _cry in front of these people. Brittany mentally scolded herself; she hated when she did this. She hated that almost every time someone made her feel bad, she ended up in tears. Hell, she cried damn near all the time when she was younger, and sometimes for the stupidest reasons, but she was older now. She had to grow up, she had to be stronger.

After Ms. Lawrence's class ended, Brittany headed to English. She was a bit afraid to walk back into Mr. Rice's class after what she did the last time. When she went to go give him her completed essay the previous day, he was so dumbfounded that he questioned her to see whether or not she stole the essay from someone else. She thought the whole ordeal was ridiculous. Was it so surprising that she was actually able to complete her work?

Despite Brittany's worries, Mr. Rice's class wasn't too bad. He didn't acknowledge her except for when he called role, he didn't yell at her for anything, in fact he didn't really seem to be in a bad mood. The class went by quickly, as did most of the school day and before she knew it, school was over.

_Today wasn't that bad, _Brittany thought. Not including the mess with Ms. Lawrence during History, everything went almost okay for her. That was...until she stepped outside.

Seeing as it had rained a lot yesterday, there were still multiple puddles and such on the roads and someone just had to take advantage of that. Brittany hadn't even taken two steps down the sidewalk when a big, bulky car had raced down the school parking lot, drove through a puddle and splashed Brittany with the water, leaving her soaked to the bone.

The car came to a stop a few feet ahead of her. The window slid down and a jock's head shot out and looked back at her.

"Oh shit, we got Pierce!" The jock laughed and stuck his head back inside the car. Brittany saw him high five someone in the passenger's seat. Many others that were close enough to see her started laughing at her soaked state. She stood frozen as the other students stopped what they were doing and turned in her direction.

Brittany looked around. Out of all the things that had ever happened to her, this had to be the most awful. She turned on her heel and ran. She ran as fast as she could back into the school. She didn't know where her feet were taking her, but she didn't stop.

As Brittany was running, the girls' restroom came into view. She headed in the direction of it. After she went in, she slammed the door behind her and dropped her things on the floor. Thankfully, no one else was in there.

She walked over to a sink and looked in the mirror. The face that stared back at her wasn't the one she usually saw. This one was more broken and torn. Brittany backed up against a stall and sank down to her knees and let the tears spill out of her eyes. Not even caring about how much she detested crying, she let herself break down completely.

Suddenly, the door to the restroom opened. Brittany looked up to see who it was and froze when she saw the last person she expected to see. Santana Lopez was standing right in front of her. Brittany stared at her and Santana stared right back.

After a few moments, Santana spoke.

"Um, are you...are you okay?"

Brittany didn't answer immediately. She was too confused to focus.

"I-I...what are you doing here?" The words stumbled out of Brittany's mouth before she could stop them, but she really wanted to know.

Santana awkwardly balanced her weight from foot to foot. "I saw what happened to you out there and well..." The brunette scratched her head. Brittany furrowed her eyebrows, waiting for her to continue.

Santana took a breath. "Well, it must have sucked so-"

Brittany cut her off and stood up. "It must havesucked? No, it didn't just suck, it was the most humiliating and _awful _thing that's ever happened to me and you think that it _must have _sucked?"

Santana's eyes widened at Brittany's sudden outburst, even Brittany herself felt taken aback at what she had just said. Nonetheless, she meant what she had said.

"Okay, um. Sorry, I guess. Look, I just came to see if you were alright."

Brittany turned away from Santana and faced the wall. "Like you even care," she mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

Brittany looked back at Santana. Her face was different now, it seemed...angry.

"What makes you think I don't care?"

Brittany scoffed. "Oh, please. When have you ever paid any attention to me? I've been dealing with everyone's crap here since day one and you haven't ever said a thing. Why should I believe that you suddenly care?"

Santana's jaw clenched. "Look, I'm just trying to help you here."

"I don't need your help! I don't...I don't need anyone's help! So, why don't you just go?"

"Okay, I don't know what your problem is, but quit lunging at me."

"Oh, you don't know what my problem is? Look around this school and name one person that gives a damn about me! Name one person who doesn't think that I'm a total idiot!" Brittany was yelling now. Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks, but she didn't stop.

"Name one person who doesn't treat me like a pile of trash they found on the sidewalk! You don't know what that's like! You have no idea what it's like to be rejected by _everyone," _Brittany's voice choked on the last word. "So, there. That's...that's what my problem is," she whispered.

Santana stared at her. The look on her face was different than Brittany had ever seen it. It was now guilt ridden and the brunette's body seemed deflated. Minutes seemed to go by before Santana spoke.

"You're right. I don't know what that's like."

Brittany stared at the floor. "Yeah, well, lucky you."

Brittany had turned back around, facing the wall once more. After that, no one spoke. The two remained in silence for so long that Brittany started to think Santana wasn't even there anymore. After a bit more time, Brittany heard movement, but she didn't look back. She heard the door open and close followed by the distinct sound of footsteps walking away. Only then did she look back and true enough, Santana was no longer there, but a sheet of paper at the foot of the door was.

Brittany looked at it curiously and slowly stood up. She walked over to where the paper lay and carefully picked it up as if it were a ticking time bomb. There were words scribbled onto it.

_You said to name one person in the school that doesn't think you're a total idiot. Well, I can._

_Me._

Brittany gaped at the note for two reasons. The first reason was because what Santana had written had caught her completely off guard. As for the second reason...it couldn't be. Brittany rushed over to her bag and pulled out her folder. She opened it and took out the note that had been on her mind ever since she first read it. She looked it over and then stared at the note that Santana had just written. The handwriting on both notes were a perfect match.

It was her. The same girl that Brittany had just yelled at was the same girl that had been the first person who had ever shown her any decency by returning her folder to her. If it was possible, Brittany now felt worse than she had before. She sighed and looked down at the new note Santana had written her.

"I am an idiot, aren't I?"


	5. All Falls Down

**Anyone ask for an update?**

**And yes, I did change the title like I said I might last chapter. This story was previously titled A Place To Return To. Don't worry, it's still the same story, I just thought this title was more fitting. So, that's all the change I'll be making to this for now.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Santana, please wait!"

Santana turned around abruptly, unaware of the fact that Brittany had been running after her. Her eyebrows were furrowed with confusion at the sight of the blonde.

"What do you want?" She asked as Brittany caught up with her.

Slightly out of breath, Brittany spoke. "I'm...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. You were just trying to be nice and I was just being stupid."

Santana frowned. She saw how ashamed Brittany looked and didn't like how the blonde was beating herself up over yelling.

"Don't call yourself stupid."

"But, I-"

Santana didn't let her finish. "Brittany. Look...you really didn't deserve what happened to you and I was the stupid one for asking you what your problem was. You don't need to apologize."

"But I do," Brittany said as she pulled out two sheets of paper from her pocket. Santana recognized her handwriting on both. Brittany held up one of the notes."I didn't know it at first but it was you who returned my folder to me. To anyone else, something like that wouldn't have meant much but to me it really meant a lot."

"Brittany..."

"Wait, please let me finish. It did mean a lot to me because that was the first time anyone at this school had ever done anything nice for me and while everyone else was laughing at me for getting soaked, you went after me to see if I was okay and instead of thanking you, I yelled. I'm really sorry for that. Okay, I'm finished."

Santana couldn't help but smile at the sincerity in Brittany's voice. "I know you're sorry, but please don't feel bad. You had a right to be angry and you were right about one thing back there. I haven't ever said or done anything about you getting treated so poorly and for that, _I'm _sorry."

Brittany grinned and awkwardly stood there, wringing her hands together. "I think we've overused the word 'sorry' in this conversation."

Santana bit her lip. She wanted to keep the conversation going but she didn't exactly know how to. Suddenly, an idea came to her mind.

"Um...I- well, I noticed that you always walk home and, um, I- I could give you a ride if...if you want."

Brittany couldn't lie, she was a little shocked at the sudden proposal but she thought it over in her head. She did have to be at The Pizza Domain by five and she was already running late. Maybe a ride wouldn't be the worst thing.

"Uh, okay. I mean, thank you for the offer and if it's not too much trouble then yeah, I'd like that."

Santana nodded. "Right, okay."

They simultaneously started walking back out into the parking lot. It was mostly empty except for a couple of cars, including Santana's. Once they reached her car, Santana opened the door to the back seat and set her bag down. She gestured for Brittany's bag, which she set down on the seat also. Santana closed the door and got into the driver's seat while Brittany walked around to get inside the passenger's side. They both put their seatbelts on and Santana started her car. They sat in silence for a moment.

"You know, you're going to have to give me the directions to your place," Santana said, effectively breaking the silence. Brittany mentally laughed at herself. Of course Santana didn't know where she lived.

"Right, sorry. Okay, once you get out of the parking lot, take a left..."

* * *

On the way to her apartment, Brittany found that being around Santana wasn't too hard. Of course, there was still a lot of awkwardness between the two girls. Just a day ago, Brittany had been trying to upstage Santana in class and now she was sitting in her car.

More than anything, Brittany was confused. Were her and Santana friends now? Or was Santana simply doing something nice and wouldn't think any more into it? The whole thing seemed too unreal. A part of her thought that someone was going to pinch her and she would wake up from this dream. She pushed the thought out of her mind. She didn't want to worry, not now.

"And, here we are," Santana said as she pulled into the parking lot of Brittany's apartment building.

"Yeah, here we are." Brittany felt a bit sad that the ride was over. "Thank you for driving me."

"You're welcome." Santana reached into the back seat to grab her bag and handed it to her.

Brittany knew she had to leave, but a part of her wanted to stay. "Uh, I guess I'll go now."

But before she could leave the car, Santana put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "Before you go, can I ask you a question? This is something I've been wondering for some time..."

Brittany waited for her to continue.

"Well, I notice how you are always trying to outdo me in Ms. Lawrence's class and I just wanted to know, why?"

Brittany was suddenly very embarrased. She didn't realize that Santana had noticed it when she did that. Brittany looked at the other girl. She could tell by one look into Santana's eyes that she had no choice but to answer the question even if she didn't want to. And she didn't. Brittany took a deep breath and shrugged.

"Because, I wanted to be better. Throughout my life, I've been overshadowed by a lot of people but by you the most. I thought that maybe, just maybe, if I could be better than you academically, then I could prove something to everyone."

Santana stared at her. "So, you singled me out as your rival? To you, I was always that obstacle in your way that you could never overcome."

Brittany nodded. "All I ever wanted was to outrank you, so yeah, I guess you could say that you were always an obstacle in my way."

Santana remained silent. Brittany waited for her to speak, but she didn't.

"I should, uh, I should go," Brittany said as she opened the car door. Santana didn't stop her a second time so she got out. "Bye."

With that, Brittany closed the car door and started walking away. When she got to the door of the apartment building, she looked back. Santana's car was still there. Brittany turned back around and went inside, heading upstairs to her apartment with the smallest of smiles apparent on her face.

* * *

"I've never seen this place so busy."

It was after seven and The Pizza Domain was more packed than ever, there were barely any tables left.

"Yeah, I guess people really like it here," Brittany said as she wiped a counter down. She was on cleaning duty today.

"We may have to hire more people if things stay this busy."

"Mhm, right," Brittany responded though she was hardly listening. She was paying attention to a man and a woman who had just walked through the door. She instantly recognized them. After all she had seen them before and the woman had been the doctor who Jonathan went to see about his broken arm.

"Hey, you're back!" Jonathan greeted them with his usual smile reserved for customers.

The woman smiled back. "Well, my husband and I enjoyed your pizza last time, we figured we might as well come back."

"Great! I'll show you guys to a table." Jonathan left from behind the counter and led the couple to one of the few tables left. Brittany kept her eyes on them for a split second then went back to cleaning. The man and woman still looked very familiar, even more so familiar than the last time she had seen them.

The rest of the night went by in a frenzied haze. Brittany cleaned table after table. Some people could really be messy with their pizza. Occasionally, she went into the break room to rest but she would keep getting called back out to clean something minutes later. Finally, her shift was over.

It took her a bit longer than usual to walk home because she was so tired. When she arrived, she didn't bother taking her work clothes off. She fell down face first onto her mattress and drifted off into sleep almost instantly.

* * *

Brittany didn't know what she expected would happen when she arrived at school that morning. Would she run into Santana? Maybe they would have another conversation, but without so much awkwardness this time.

Brittany never thought of it until now, but if she and Santana were friends, would she stop getting teased so much? Santana was one of the most admired girls in school. Would everyone else trust her judge of character? Brittany had a lot of questions on her mind when she walked into her first period class. It was the one class she had with Santana and usually the brunette would already be in her seat by the time Brittany got there, but this time she wasn't.

Obviously, Brittany thought Santana had just been running late so she didn't think too much about it. The blonde sat down in her seat. In front of her two girls were talking in hushed voices. Although Brittany wasn't listening in on their conversation, she did hear bits of what they were saying. Something about last night and downtown.

The bell rang seconds later, signaling the start of first period. Ms. Lawrence told the class to quiet down so she could get started with the lesson. Brittany looked to the front of the classroom where Santana sat at. She wasn't there. Maybe she was really running late or maybe she was sick. Other people seemed to notice her absence too because this was the first time Santana had not been in class.

Brittany found herself wondering why she wasn't there and it was near the very end of class when she received her answer. She was packing up her things when the two girls in front of her started talking again.

"I knew Santana wouldn't be here," one of them started. Brittany snapped her head up. Did they know where she was?

"Why not?" The other one asked.

"Remember what I started to tell you before class?" The second girl nodded. "Well, as I was saying, I saw on the news this morning that there was a really bad car accident downtown last night. Apparently, two people died."

Brittany stiffened in her seat. Two people...could one of them had been...? The second girl must have been thinking the same thing for she wore a look of utmost shock on her face.

"What does Santana have to do with that? She wasn't one of the ones who...was she?"

The first girl shook her head. Brittany let out a breath of relief she hadn't been aware she was holding. Well, if Santana hadn't been one of the two who had died then who were they and what did that have to do with Santana? Brittany stared at the girl, waiting for her to answer.

The girl's face fell and she turned to look at the unoccupied desk where Santana would have been if she was there. She turned back to her friend and looked her right in the eyes.

"The two people who died...those were her parents."

* * *

**So...some stuff went down in this chapter. I was actually really nervous about posting this. I feel bad for writing that ending and leaving you guys with that cliff hanger and I'm sorry if I messed with anyone's feelings here, but in order for this story to go the way I want it to, I had to do that. I do have some things to share with you guys though.**

**In the next couple of ****chapters you will:**

**1. Find out more about Santana's life and her relationship with her parents.**

**2. Find out why Brittany seeing Santana's parents those two times at TPD are important to ****this story**

**3. See a sudden growth in Santana and Brittany's relationship because of one big reason.**

**Please don't hate me and please tell me what you thought about this chapter.**


	6. Walking on Broken Glass

**Update! Obviously, this chapter is going be about Santana so I apologize in advance if I tug at anyone's heartstrings. I myself got a bit emotional writing this chapter. **

* * *

"_Santana,__ you need to be more careful when you're out playing." Maribel Lopez picked her daughter up and sat her on top of the kitchen counter then proceeded to wet a paper towel to wipe the almost dried blood off of Santana's knee._

_"Mommy, I'm fine. It's just a little cut."_

_"Today, it's just a little cut. Tomorrow, it could be a broken arm."_

_Santana let out a huff of air. "Even if I did break my arm, you could just fix it with your special doctor tools, right?"_

_Her mother laughed "That's right, mija. I'd just use my special doctor tools," Maribel said as she tickled her daughter's stomach. Santana shrieked with laughter and swatted her mother's hands away. _

_"What's going on in here?" Luis Lopez had entered the kitchen at the sound of Santana's laughter. He noticed the blood on her knee and shook his head in slight amusement. "Another injury, Santana? Do your mother and I need to start keeping an eye on you at all times?"_

_"No, I can take care of myself."_

_Luis snickered and crossed his arms at his daughter's stubbornness. "Are you sure?"_

_Santana nodded furiously. "Yes! I'm a big girl."_

_Her parents smiled at each other then turned back to Santana. Her mother finished cleaning off her knee then placed a band-aid on it. She took Santana off the counter and set her back on the floor._

_"There, you can go back out and play, but be more careful. I don't want to go out and see you crying on the sidewalk again."_

_Santana scrunched up her face. "I don't cry, crying is for babies!" With that, she ran out._

_"That girl is something else," Maribel said._

* * *

"Hello, my name is Officer Johanson from the Lima Police Department. Is this the Lopez residence?"

"Um, yes, " Santana answered into the phone. She had been resting in bed with a book when their home phone had started ringing obnoxiously, interrupting her reading. When she answered it, she didn't expect to hear a police officer on the other line.

"May I ask who it is I'm speaking to?" Officer Johanson asked.

"I'm Santana Lopez. My parents aren't here at the moment, if you're looking for them. Sorry."

"I didn't call to talk to your parents. Actually... Oh lord, how am I supposed to say this?" Santana heard him mumble the last part as if he had said it more to himself than to her. "Look, Santana. About your parents..."

"Yes? What about them," Santana pressed for him to finish. She felt something strange in her stomach. She didn't quite know what it was, but she was certain this phone call was the reason she felt that way.

The officer sighed.

"I hate to tell you this, but there was a really terrible car wreck downtown. Unfortunately, your parents were a part of it. They were hurt badly and were immediately taken to the hospital. I'm sorry, I know this is coming as a shock to you and..."

Santana had stopped listening.

She felt the phone slip from out of her hand and drop to the floor. Her parents...car wreck...hurt badly. The words seemed to float around in her head. She could hear the faint sound of Officer Johanson calling for her through the phone, but she ignored him. She had to get to the hospital.

Santana rushed to the front door and was about to grab her car keys when she stopped her hand in midair. She stared at the keys with a wave of anxiety washing over her. Just the thought of driving in a car while her parents were now in the hospital severly injured _because _of a car wreck made her feel nauseous. There was no way in hell she was about to get in a car right now.

So she ran.

She didn't care that the hospital was miles away, she didn't care about the fact that she was in her pajamas with no shoes on, she didn't care about anything except for seeing her parents. As Santana was running, the strange feeling in her stomach came back, but this time she knew what it was. Fear.

Fear was one thing Santana didn't enjoy dealing with, so she ran faster. Her feet were aching, she was tired, but she didn't dare stop. Time seemed to slow down as she ran. After what seemed like forever, she finally reached the hospital.

Santana flew through the door and raced towards the reception desk. Ms. Chase, a middle aged woman who sat behind the desk, recognized her instantly. Without even asking, Ms. Chase knew the answer to the question Santana wanted to know.

"They're in room 23. I'd hurry, if I were you."

Too out of breath to speak, Santana nodded and took off down the hall.

"Please be okay..._Please._" She mumbled the same words over and over again until she saw the room she was searching for. Just before her hand reached the doorknob, the door opened and a man stepped out. He jumped at the sight of her and she staggered backwards. _  
_

"My parents," she gasped out. "I need to see them."

She made to move around him to walk inside the room, but he placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. Santana turned back to the man and was about to tell him to let go of her, but he spoke before she got the chance to.

"Look kid, I'm sorry, but we did everything we could. Your parents, they just...they didn't make it."

* * *

_Santana ran upstairs, wiping her eyes as she went. When she got to her room, she closed the door and sank down to the floor. Tears spilled over her eyelids as she pulled her knees up to her chest. She stayed that way for minutes until she heard a knock on her door._

_"Santana? Are you crying?"_

_Santana jumped at her father's voice. "Um, n-no. Crying is for babies and I'm not a baby, remember?" She sniffed and wiped at her eyes._

_Just as she thought, her father didn't believe her and opened the door. He looked at her face and saw her red eyes and knew for a fact that she had been crying. He walked over to his daughter and picked her up in his arms then walked over to her bed and sat down on it with her in his lap._

_"Hmm, no, you're not a baby, but you're still crying. What's wrong?"_

_Santana sniffed again. "This really mean girl in my class was making fun of me."_

_"And she hurt your feelings?"_

_Santana looked at her father as if what he had just said made absolutely no sense to her._

_"No, the girl was making fun of me so I told her to..." She finished the sentence by mumbling something her father couldn't make out._

_"You told her to what?"_

_Santana sighed. "I told her to shut up before I glued her lips together and the teacher heard me so I got in trouble and then I felt bad because I know you and mommy don't want me getting in trouble."_

_"So, is that why you're crying? You didn't want your mother and I to be mad at you? " Her father asked. Santana nodded._

_"Well, I don't like what you said to that girl, but I also don't like the fact that she was making fun of you. I'm glad you told me about this."_

_"You're not mad?" Santana asked as she looked up at her father curiously._

_"Well, no."_

_"But...what if one day I do something really bad that makes you and mommy so mad that you stop loving me?"_

_Her father looked her in the eyes and smiled. "Santana, I promise you that your mother and I will never stop loving you."_

_Santana smiled back. "I promise I'll never stop loving you guys either."_

* * *

There was a stinging in Santana's eyes, a clog in her throat and an excruciating ache in her heart.

"My parents didn't..." Her voice cracked, unable to even finish the sentence. She was sure the man in front of her had said something, but she paid no attention to him. She pushed past him and ran into the operating room.

The sight of her parents made her stomach clench. There they both were, covered in various horrible bruises and cuts and so...lifeless. Santana stood there not knowing what to do. She wanted to scream, to cry, to pinch herself and hopefully wake up from this cruel, terrible nightmare.

The longer she stared at her parents' lifeless bodies, the more it felt like her world was ending. She sank down to her knees and felt the tears fall. In next to no time, her entire body racked with sobs. She never imagined something like _this _would ever happen.

Her parents, the two people who had taken care of her since birth, who had always been there for her, who she had loved more than anyone else...were gone.

She didn't know how long she had stayed there on the floor crying, but it must have been quite a while because exhaustion was taking its toll on her. She soon fell asleep there on the floor.

Santana awoke with a start. It took her a moment to register where she was.

She looked out the room window and saw that it was incredibly dark out. She sat up from the ground and like a brutal punch to the stomach, she remembered why she was there.

She rushed to her feet and saw that her parents were no longer on the hospital beds. They had been moved down to the morgue. They were gone and she hadn't even been able to say goodbye.

A surge of anger washed through her. Why hadn't anyone woken her up? They were her parents, after all. She just couldn't handle this. Just being at the hospital made her feel like she was having a panic attack. She had to leave.

She ran out the room, surprising a couple of nurses who were out in the hall but she paid them no attention. She raced out of the hospital and down the street. Occasionally, her vision would get so blurred from her tears she would have to slow down a bit to wipe at her eyes, but nonetheless, she didn't stop running.

When she finally reached her house, she stopped on the front porch and bent down to clutch at her knees and gasped for breath. She hadn't thought running would wear her out so much.

After catching her breath, Santana walked inside and looked around. The house was calm and quiet. There was no sound except for her own staggered breaths. She started walking and made her way up the stairs. She was exhausted, but instead of going into her room, she walked right past it.

She was soon standing in front of the door to her parents' room. She slowly turned the knob to open the door and walked inside. She could smell the faint scent of her mother's perfume and her father's aftershave.

Santana walked over to the bedside table where there stood a picture frame. She picked it up and stared at it. It was a picture of her and her parents. She was only seven in the picture and she was sitting on a bike wearing a helmet. _Safety first, _her mother had said.

Santana looked at the smiling faces of her parents in the picture. So many memories came rushing back to her. She remembered all the times her parents had scolded her for not being careful when she was out playing, the times they would smile at her whenever she did something silly, and the "I'm proud of you's" and "good job's" whenever she got a good grade.

It wasn't until that moment that Santana realized she was now alone. Her parents had no siblings so she didn't have any aunts, uncles, or cousins. Her grandparents had passed away when she was younger. She had no one.

Santana collapsed down onto her parents' bed, still holding the picture frame. The sound of quiet sobs filled the room as she clutched the frame to her chest. Once again, the power of sleep overcame her.

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait, but in the past few weeks I've had to write a research paper, study for two chemistry tests, a history test and an english benchmark that took all day to complete, so I've been busy. **

**Plus, I had to rewrite this chapter so many times.**

**Originally, this chapter was a lot longer, but I decided to cut it into two seperate chapters. I'll update as soon as I can!**


	7. Angel in White

**Disclaimer: Glee's not mine.**

* * *

It was raining. That was the first thing that Santana registered. The second was that she was lying in bed while holding a picture frame.

Santana sat up from the bed as everything that had happened the previous night came rushing back to her. Her parents were gone and she was alone. Nothing had ever seemed so surreal before.

Santana stayed there in bed, not knowing what to do. Was she supposed to go back to the hospital? Was she supposed to stay there and cry? For whatever reason, no more tears were coming. She had cried so much the previous night, was it possible that she had simply drained herself of tears?

Santana looked at the clock on the bedside table and saw that it was past eight o'clock. School had already started and she wasn't there. In fact, she didn't care to be there. Her parents had always pushed for her to get perfect attendance, it was almost a shame that her record was now broken.

She didn't want to think about it. In fact, she didn't really want to think about anything. Santana got out of the bed and pulled the blanket back up into place, smoothed it out and fluffed the pillows. She didn't know why she made sure the bed was perfectly made before leaving, she just knew it felt right.

Santana left out of her parents' room and went down the hall to hers. She stepped inside and started removing her pajamas. She went to her closet and took out a worn out pair of jeans and a plain, black t-shirt. Slowly, she dressed herself. She didn't know why she was doing this. Again, it just felt right.

She grabbed a brush and almost robotically smoothed out her hair. After she was finished, she left out of her room and went downstairs. She stopped right in front of the door with her hand on the knob.

"Mom, Dad...I'm going out."

With that, Santana opened the front door and walked outside into the bright sun.

* * *

_Those were her parents. _

It was amazing how those four words had such a massive effect on Brittany. Had she heard right? Did that one girl actually know what she was talking about?

The shock of overhearing what had happened to Santana Lopez's parents had impacted her so greatly that when the bell rang dismissing class, she sat frozen in her desk while everyone else started to leave out.

"Get to class, Miss Pierce."

The sharp tone of her teacher, Ms. Lawrence, snapped Brittany out of her stupor long enough for her to make her way out off the classroom. She walked without really paying much attention to which direction she was headed.

Brittany kept her gaze transfixed to the ground. It was true that Brittany did not remember her own parents, so she didn't know the exact pain of losing the people she loved but she did know the pain of being alone. It was one of the most terrible feelings in the world and she hated the idea of anyone going through that.

Even though Brittany never thought of Santana as anything other than a rival- up until, well, yesterday- it just wasn't fair for the brunette to lose her parents like that. Brittany didn't even know Santana's parents, but she had heard that they were really successful doctors, or lawyers, or something to that extent.

It wasn't fair. Why did two innocent people have to be taken away from the world, leaving their daughter behind? For all Brittany knew, Santana was most likely at home crying and pleading for her parents. The thought made her heart clench.

Brittany was halfway to her next class when she stopped abruptly in the middle of the hallway. She suddenly didn't feel like being here in this place.

"Damn, would you watch it?" A girl from behind snarled and brushed past her.

Brittany ignored her and turned around. She walked until she saw one of the side exits to the school. No one bothered to stop her. As soon as she stepped out of the school, she heard the tardy bell ring. Her English teacher would make her life miserable for skipping his class, but that didn't matter.

Brittany needed to go somewhere quiet so she could think and she had the perfect place in mind.

* * *

Santana had been out of her house for the better part of an hour. She walked and walked, to where she didn't know. She flinched every time a car drove past her on the road and felt an undeniable sadness when she walked past a daycare and saw a mother carrying her son inside.

More than once, Santana thought of going back home or going to school, but her legs didn't bother taking her either way. After more walking, she started to realize that her surroundings were looking more and more familiar. She didn't know exactly where she was. She had paid very little attention to where she was going.

Santana had rounded a corner when she saw a familiar building. She had, in fact, just been there the previous day. About fifty feet in front of her was an apartment complex. The apartment complex where Brittany Pierce lived, to be exact. For the smallest fraction of a second, Santana thought of going to see the blonde girl. The thought quickly slipped her mind because for one thing, Brittany was in school and also, Santana had no idea which apartment she lived in.

Santana started to head towards the building. With each step she took, she grew more weary. Her legs were aching because of how long she had been walking. She needed to sit down for a bit.

Out of the corner of her eye, Santana saw a thin, man made path of gravel and dirt. She noticed that it led far beyond the building. Despite her aching feet, her curiosity got the better of her and she started to follow the path.

Santana walked along the side of the building for a couple of minutes before seeing a small, rusty playground in the near distance. The first thing her eyes settled on was a swing that was suspended from a tree branch.

It was one of those porch-type swings that was big enough for two people. For whatever reason, the swing intrigued her and before she knew it, she had made her way over to it and sat down. She immediately sighed at the feeling of finally being off her feet.

Santana closed her eyes and leaned back onto the swing, using one leg to slightly swing back and forth. She felt so at peace. Maybe if she stayed there long enough, everything bad would go away. She would've given anything to stay there in that calm, peaceful moment where nothing could hurt her.

"San...Santana?"

Santana's eyes snapped open as she nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned her head to the side to see the one and only Brittany Pierce.

"Brittany! Oh god, you...you scared me."

Brittany took a step closer to the brunette, her confusion growing. "Santana, what are you doing here?"

"I, uh, I just," Santana took a breath. "I just couldn't be at home. I had to leave, so I did and I just started walking around and I found myself here. Wait...um, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?"

Brittany moved over to the tree and leaned against it. "I could ask you the same thing. I needed a quiet place to go to so I came here. This is kinda a place I come to a lot."

"Oh." Santana nodded and looked away. It only took a second for Brittany to notice that the other girl's face seemed more down than usual. The blonde mentally slapped herself. She was so stupid, how could she forget?

"Um, Santana. I heard about your...you know, what happened to your parents and I'm really sorry."

"Brittany..." Santana had said her name so quietly that Brittany didn't heard her and continued on.

"It's terrible that that happened to them and it's not fair that you have to go through all of this."

"Brittany, _please._" Santana's voice choked on the last word and Brittany stopped in her tracks.

She watched as Santana clenched her eyes shut as her bottom lip trembled. Once again, Brittany felt like an idiot.

"Damn it," Brittany muttered to herself. "Santana...please don't cry. God, I'm stupid. I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, Brittany, it's fine," Santana said in a shaky voice. Brittany pushed herself off of the tree and took a seat next to Santana on the swing.

"No, it isn't fine. You just lost your parents and I was being insensitive."

Santana shook her head. "You were being everything but insensitive, Brittany. It's okay, really."

Brittany looked uncertainly at the girl sitting next to her. "Alright," she responded.

The two girls sat together in silence for what seemed like days. Brittany occasionally snuck a glance at Santana and every time she did, the brunette looked like she was on the brink of tears. Finally, Brittany couldn't stand the silence anymore. She had to say something.

"Santana, honestly. How are you doing?"

Santana said nothing. Her lips were pressed together in a straight line and she wrapped her arms around her torso. She turned her head away and looked to the old playground. For a minute, Brittany thought Santana wasn't going to answer. Then she spoke in a voice so quiet, Brittany had to strain to hear.

"You really want to know?" Santana asked, still not looking at the blonde. Brittany didn't even answer before Santana spoke again.

"I feel like my world is caving in. I feel like my heart is going to explode. I feel as if my entire life, I've been asleep and it had to take my parents' untimely death to finally wake me up and realize just how cruel the world can be."

Brittany didn't know what to do or what to say. The girl next to her was falling apart at the seams and she didn't even know how to comfort her.

"You know what I did last night, Brittany? I got into my parents' bed and cried myself to sleep. I thought being in their bed would make me feel closer to them, but it didn't. It just made me hurt more," Santana's voice trembled.

"This morning, when I left out of my house, I didn't know why I did it but now I do. It just hurts too much. I can't go back there, Brittany. Everything there reminds me of them and every time I think of going back home, I'm reminded of the worst thing of all. That I'm alone."

Brittany felt her heart break for Santana. The girl was so broken and she needed someone right now. Brittany scooted towards Santana and placed an arm around her shoulders, the other around her waist.

Santana didn't protest to Brittany's actions. The blonde pulled her towards her own body until Santana's head was resting on Brittany's shoulder.

"Santana, I-I don't really know what to say, but I am so sorry. You don't deserve to go through this. I don't know whether or not I'm good at comforting people, but I'll try to make you feel even the slightest bit better, okay?"

Santana's shoulders shook and her breathing hitched. For the first time that day, she started to cry. It wasn't long before she was full on sobbing into Brittany's shoulder, staining the girl's white shirt with tears. Brittany didn't seem to care. She held Santana tightly and ran a hand up and down her back.

"I j-just don't know w-what to d-do, Brittany," Santana choked out. "My p-parents are gone and they're n-not coming back. I'm on m-my own and I-I don't know if I can do t-this without them."

Brittany rested her head on top of Santana's and tightened her grip on the girl.

"You'll make it through this and you won't be on your own," Brittany said into Santana's hair.

"Because I'll be here."

* * *

**Poor Santana, am I right? The girl is so broken, good thing Brittany is there. Also, if you haven't noticed, the title of this chapter is Angel in White and it was stated that Santana was crying into Brittany's WHITE shirt. You know what that means, right? **

**So, I'm proud of how this chapter turned out. Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!**


	8. Maybe Tomorrow

**Update! Sorry this took a while but life has been a nuisance. Also, this chapter is the longest one yet and it's a bit boring because *spoiler* there's a ton of legal stuff that I needed to get out of the way. I had to research so much crap for this chapter because of that.**

**Enjoy, my lovely readers!**

* * *

Brittany Pierce wasn't a fool when it came to hurting. Her entire life, she had been picked on, made fun of, and had been treated like dirt by her peers and even by some of her teachers. There were days where she had to suffer through what she could only describe as the most terrible things. There were nights where she couldn't help but cry herself to sleep. No, Brittany Pierce was no stranger to feeling miserable.

That being said, everything Brittany had gone through in her life seemed petty to what the crying girl she was holding in her arms was going through right now. Santana Lopez, a girl Brittany had always tried to show up, was now sobbing into her shoulder, soaking her shirt with fresh tears.

If anyone from school would've seen the two girls at that moment, they'd no doubt be in complete and utter shock. In fact, if the situation wasn't so serious, Brittany would be somewhat surprised herself at what was happening.

Nonetheless, she continued to comfort Santana. Her arms stayed locked around the girl. Her cheek stayed resting on top of Santana's head. Brittany didn't dare move. She didn't have the power in her to do so. Although...what was going to happen when Santana stopped her crying? Would things be awkward between them?

Brittany had the urge to kick herself. Was she really thinking about if things would be awkward? As if that mattered. She erased the thought out of her mind and took a glance at Santana. Seeing the girl so broken like that made Brittany's heart ache.

The longer she listened to the sound of Santana's sobs, the more sorrowful she felt. In that moment, the only thing Brittany wanted to do was to make Santana feel better. She wanted to take away the pain. She just wished she knew how.

Brittany had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't realized Santana's crying had quieted down some. It was only when she spoke that Brittany noticed that the brunette was starting to regain her composer.

"Brittany?"

The blonde slightly jumped at Santana's voice. "Yeah?"

Santana hesitated before responding. "Thanks for...being here."

Santana's voice came out in a quiet and broken whisper. She slowly pulled away from Brittany and wiped at her eyes.

"Don't thank me, Santana. I guess I just did what any normal person would've done," Brittany muttered.

Santana didn't respond. She looked down at the ground and remained silent. She stayed that way for some time and Brittany just figured that she didn't want to talk at all.

"God, I feel so embarrassed," Santana suddenly said. Brittany looked over at her with her face contorted with confusion. Before she could ask why, Santana went on.

"I mean, here I am, crying a whole river in front of a girl I hardly know."

Brittany just simply stared at Santana. Out of all the things the brunette could have said at that moment, that was the last thing Brittany had expected to hear.

"You...wait, what? Hold on," Brittany shook her head. "Santana, no. You do not need to feel embarrassed. Especially not for crying in front of me."

Santana's gaze didn't leave the ground so Brittany stood up from the swing and knelt down in front of her. Santana's eyes flickered up to the blonde.

"And, hey. You're right. You hardly know me and I hardly know you, but we do have one thing in common. I lost my parents too when I was younger," Brittany explained.

"I mean, sure, you actually knew and loved your parents and I don't even remember mine, but that doesn't mean I didn't feel sad about losing them."

Santana looked at the other girl with her brow furrowed. "Why are you telling me this, Brittany?"

Brittany shrugged. "Honestly? I guess I'm just trying to let you know that things are gonna get better. When I was little, the only thing I thought about was my parents. Back then, I figured that if I thought about them enough, then they'd come back. Well, they didn't and thinking about them so much just made me feel even sadder that they weren't there."

"And how do you feel right now?" Santana asked. Brittany took a minute to think.

"Well...I won't say that I don't think about my parents at all anymore, because I do. I mean, I do wish they were here but I guess thinking about them doesn't make me feel as sad as it used to. You just need time, Santana. That pain that you're feeling right now isn't going to hurt as much someday."

Santana nodded and averted her gaze to the ground once more. Brittany was somewhat taken aback with herself. Not once had she ever spoken about how she felt towards losing her parents. The fact that she had just done so in front of Santana Lopez astounded her.

"You know," Santana began. "When I was little, I would always tell myself that crying was for babies. Now look at me. If the younger Santana could see me now, she'd probably yell at me."

Just like Santana had done earlier, Brittany was tempted ask why she was being told this. She held the question in and chose to say something that she thought was more fitting.

"I'm sure the younger Santana would understand why her older self was crying. Maybe she'd hug you instead of yell."

Santana let out a tiny huff of air that Brittany thought may have been a small laugh.

"Yeah," Santana whispered. "Maybe."

Brittany felt that her legs were starting to go numb from the way she was positioned. She stood up from the ground, stretched out her legs a bit, and sat back down next to Santana on the swing.

Both girls sat in silence, though this time, the quietness wasn't as pained. Santana still looked sad, but she didn't seem to be as broken as she was when Brittany first saw her. A small smile found it's way onto the blonde's face. She was glad that Santana was on the road to feeling better.

"Hey, Brittany?"

The other girl looked up at the sound of her name. She noticed that Santana had her brow furrowed deeply and her lips were pressed together in a tight, straight line.

"Yeah? Are you okay?"

"I'm about as okay as I could possibly be given the circumstances," Santana muttered. "I was just wondering...well, I wanted to know, um..."

The brunette seemed to be deep in thought about what she was trying to say next.

"How do you do it?" Santana finally asked quietly.

Brittany raised her eyebrows at the question. How did she do what, exactly? "Um, I don't really understand your question," she said slowly.

Santana's cheeks turned a noticeable shade of red. She turned away from Brittany, clearly embarrassed.

"Just...just nevermind. Forget I said anything."

Brittany didn't know how else to respond so she just simply nodded.

"Listen, um, I'm really tired. I hardly got any sleep last night and I just feel completely worn out. I know it's going to hurt going back there but..." Santana sighed deeply. "I should- I should go back home."

"Oh," Brittany said with slight surprise. "Are you, y'know, sure? You said yourself that you can't go back there because it hurts too much."

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm...I'm going to be fine." Santana bit her lip and nodded her head. "I'm going to be fine," she repeated in a whisper.

Brittany then realized that the brunette was trying to convince herself that she was going to be fine more than anything else. Maybe the real reason Santana wanted to go back home wasn't because she was tired, but because she wanted to see if she was strong enough to go back. All that stuff Brittany had said about just needing time and that the pain wasn't going to hurt as much someday...Santana was doing the exact opposite and was trying to make the pain go away as soon as possible.

"Look, Santana...maybe you should wait a bit longer before going back-"

"Brittany, I really appreciate you being there for me, but I just have to go," Santana responded almost exasperatedly. She got up off the swing and held her arms tightly around her torso.

"But..."

"Thanks for everything, Brittany," Santana remarked quietly. "Really. It meant a lot."

Santana started to slowly walk away. She kept going until she got past the apartment building and turned the corner. And then she was gone. Brittany felt almost ashamed to say she didn't go after her.

* * *

The trip back to Santana's house made her even more exhausted. More than once, she stopped to rest her legs. On her way home, she thought about everything that Brittany had said. Maybe the blonde was right. Maybe she did need time before her pain went away. Unfortunately, Santana just did not have the patience to wait.

After more walking, she finally made it to the street on which she lived. Just walking on the pavement that led to her house pained her.

"You can do this," she told herself. She repeated the words as she made her way down the sidewalk. She stopped when she reached her driveway. She stared at the house. It looked dull, almost lifeless...as if the entire structure had died alongside her parents.

"I-I can do this." Even though Santana had said the words in hope of gaining strength, her voice was full of doubt. Nonetheless, she still slowly made her way up the cement path.

After what seemed like forever, Santana reached the front door and stopped in front of it. She reached her hand out and laid it on the knob. She felt her heartbeat speed up and her breath came out more rapidly.

"I...I can't do this," Santana said, her voice cracking as she did so. She merely stood there, frozen. She didn't open the door. She just couldn't.

"Ugh," Santana groaned. "I can't even go inside my own damn house, I hate this!"

Santana pounded on the door with the side of her fist out of frustration. She rested her forehead on the cold wood and continued to pound on it. To an outsider, it might have looked like she was just waiting for someone to answer the door. But no one was going to.

"I just don't understand it. Why does this have to be so hard?" Santana asked aloud. The only answer she received was the quietness of the world around her.

"God, I don't know what to do," she muttered. "This is so unfair. Why them? Why did it have to be them?"

Santana brought a hand up to cover her eyes as she felt the tears coming once more. Liquid streamed from her eyelids and down her face. This time, there was no Brittany to hold and comfort her. This time she was alone. Knowing that no one else was there made Santana feel even worse.

Her shoulders shook as she turned around with her back pressed against the door. She slid down to the ground and brought her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs and closed her eyes. She let the tears fall, not bothering to stop them. Would the crying ever stop? _You just need time, Santana_.

Brittany's voice rang throughout her head. How much time would it take before things didn't hurt as much? Santana didn't want to be sitting around for years crying over her parents. She wanted to be able to step into her own home again. She wanted to go back in time to stop her parents from going out for dinner so they would've never gotten in that stupid car accident.

"I just want them back," Santana croaked out. She was tired of the pain. She was tired of crying. She was just tired overall.

Santana didn't know how much time had passed as she sat there in front of her door. She just felt her eyelids growing heavier with each passing moment until she finally drifted off and became unaware of the world around her...

"Santana...Santana?"

The brunette could hear someone calling her name. The voice was getting louder as if someone was turning up the volume on a television. Whoever it was calling out her name was also shaking her gently.

"Santana, sweetie, wake up."

Santana hadn't realized that she had been sleeping. Her eyes blinked open. She was met with someone kneeling in front of her. Someone who looked way too familiar.

"Ms. Chase?" Santana almost couldn't believe it. She was staring right into the face of the same woman she had seen just the previous night when she had ran into the hospital, looking for her parents. But, what was she doing here?

Santana saw movement from behind the older woman. She looked over her shoulder and saw an elder man in a gray suit stepping out of an even older car that looked like it hadn't seen an auto shop in years.

"Honey, why were you sleeping out here?" Ms. Chase's hazel eyes were showered with concern.

"I-it was...no reason," Santana didn't want to admit that she was unable to go inside her house. "It just sorta happened. Why are you here and who's the guy?"

Ms. Chase stood up from the ground and Santana followed suit, brushing off her pants.

"Don't worry about anything, Santana," Ms. Chase started. "The man is Mr. Lowry. He's your parents' lawyer and we're here to discuss some important issues now that you're parents have...passed."

Santana froze. She hadn't even thought about what was going to happen to her. She had been so caught up in everything else that the thought completely slipped her mind.

"O-oh..." She mumbled.

The man named Mr. Lowry came up the driveway towards them. He looked like a nice enough man. He had aged blue eyes and a warm smile.

"Hello, Santana," he said. "I'm truly sorry to hear about what happened to your parents. I've been doing this job almost forty years and I always feel bad when dealing with these kind of situations. I understand if you are in no mood to speak at the moment."

Santana shook her head. "No, I'm...I'm fine. It's fine."

Mr. Lowry nodded. "Right. So, shall we go inside?"

Santana hesitated. "Um, could we just talk about it out here?"

Mr. Lowry looked at her for a moment, confusion evident on his face. Ms. Chase, on the other hand, seemed to understand her.

"I think staying out here would be fine, right?"

Mr. Lowry slightly shrugged his shoulders. "Um, yes, sure. I see no harm in staying out. Alright, why don't we cut to the chase? So, to state the obvious, Santana. You can't remain living on your own because you're a minor."

"I'm seventeen, it's not like I'm a child," the brunette said under her breath.

"Well...that is correct," said the man. "But seeing as it's the law, you need to have a legal guardian."

"That's why I'm here, Santana," Ms. Chase intervened. Santana stared at her, not actually comprehending her words.

"Y-You? Wait, Ms. Chase? You want to be...my guardian?"

The woman nodded and put a hand on Santana's upper arm. "Santana, let me tell you a story. Almost twenty years ago, the very first day I started work at the hospital, I was unbelievably nervous. I kept thinking that I would mess up and get everything wrong."

Santana listened carefully to the story Ms. Chase was telling. She noticed Mr. Lowry standing almost awkwardly in the background as he also listened.

"I was so nervous that it got to the point where I would stutter whenever someone spoke to me and I would just make an entire fool of myself. Well, you see, one person in particular noticed how nervous I was and she came up to me during my lunch break. She stood right in front of me, smiled, and said 'Maybe you wouldn't be so nervous if you made a friend on your first day.'"

Ms. Chase squeezed Santana's shoulder and gave her a comforting smile. "Honey, that was your mother who said that. And, you know what? We did become friends. Best friends, in fact and when she met your father, he and I got along famously as well. I was there when they got married, I was there when you were born. Your parents trusted me with their lives which is exactly why they honored me with being your godmother. They told me that if anything were to ever happen to them, they wanted me to take care of you. And that's exactly what I'm going to do."

Santana didn't know what to say. She hadn't even known she had a godmother. The topic just never came up. The fact that she did have a godmother and the fact that said godmother was Ms. Chase, a woman who she had known since she was young, just seemed a bit stranger than it should have been.

"Wow, uh... I-I didn't know you were so close with them, Ms. Chase." Santana wanted to say more, but that was all that came out.

"That's okay, Santana. Right now, let's take of some business. Mr. Lowry?" Ms. Chase motioned the man over with a wave of her hand. He walked up to the other two and it was only then that Santana noticed that he had a couple of folders tucked in between his side and his arm.

"Right, business time," Mr. Lowry clapped his hands together then took hold of one of the folders. He flipped it open then took out various sheets of paper that were stapled together.

"So, Ms. Clare Chase, seeing as you will be taking the role of Santana Lopez's legal guardian, you need to sign some paperwork to fully clarify your custody."

The older woman nodded. "Right."

"Also," Mr. Lowry went on. "After you sign the papers, they will be taken to the Probate Court to get processed. And even though you are Santana's godmother, if the officials deem you unfit to take care of her, you will be tried in a full court investigation. Understand?"

"Yes, I absolutely understand. Not to worry, though. I like to think that I'm completely fit to take care of a child," Ms. Chase remarked.

Santana was tempted to tell them that she wasn't a child and that she would be eighteen in less than a year, but decided against it.

"Was that the only reason you both came here? To sign paperwork? I mean, couldn't you have done that without me?"

Both adults turned to Santana at her question.

"Actually, Santana," Mr. Lowry started. "That's not the only reason I'm here. We do need to discuss your parents' Will."

Santana's eyebrows furrowed together. She found it strange that her parents had written a Will even though they were both still young enough. Seeing the look on Santana's face, Mr. Lowry spoke.

"You know, Santana, your parents were both smart people. They didn't want to take any risks."

"Right," the brunette murmured. Mr. Lowry opened the second and final folder and took out a sheet of paper.

"Both of your parents each have their own Will, but I read over them and they both more or less say the same thing, so why not just read one of them to save some time, eh?"

"That sounds quite alright," Ms. Chase answered. Mr. Lowry cleared his throat and started to read from the paper.

"'I, Maribel Catalina Lopez, a resident of Lima, Ohio, hereby make this Will and revoke all prior Wills and Condicils...'"

Santana listened to the older man read her mother's Will aloud. She patiently waited to hear where she came along in it. After a few moments, she finally heard her name.

"'I have one living child named Santana Diabla Lopez,'" Mr. Lowry read. "'If, at my death, my child is under the age of eighteen, then I nominate my dear friend, Clare Chase to serve as the legal guardian.'"

Ms. Chase smiled slightly at the mention of her name in the Will.

"'In the event of my death, I would like to give my property, my savings, and all of my ownings to my only child, Santana Diabla Lopez.'"

"Wait," Santana interrupted. "You mean, I get...everything?"

Mr. Lowry placed the Will back in the folder, probably because he had read enough to clarify things or maybe because he had read everything on it.

"Well, that is what your parents wrote in their Wills. So to answer your question, yes you get it all. This," he gestured to the house, "and everything in it is now yours. Not to mention that all the money in their savings now belongs to you also."

If the situation were any different, Santana might have been excited. She just couldn't believe that her parents gave her everything. She knew she was an only child and had no other relatives, but it still felt surreal. Just then, a thought occurred to her.

"Hold on for a second. The house is mine, but I'm a minor and I can't live alone, so..."

"Oh, not to worry about that, Santana." Mr. Lowry responded. "With your permission, of course, I could see to it that every month, some money is taken out of the savings your parents left you to pay for the expenses of the house. You know, so everything keeps running. Then, once you turn eighteen, you could move back in with the house under your name."

"O-Oh, right," Santana muttered. She turned her head slightly and stared at the house. The sight of it made her heart ache. Maybe by the time she was eighteen, things wouldn't hurt as much. Maybe then she could return and live peacefully.

"So, Santana. Do you have any more questions?" Mr. Lowry asked the girl. She shook her head no.

"Alright then, and ma'am," the lawyer said to Ms. Chase, "I'll just point out all the places you need to sign on those documents. I believe I have a pen somewhere."

Mr. Lowry took a ballpoint pen from out of his pants pocket and handed it to the older woman. Since they were outside, there wasn't a table to write on so they had to use one of the folders in Mr. Lowry's hand. He pointed out all the places where Ms. Chase had to sign while Santana drifted off aimlessly to the side. She walked back to where she had been when Ms. Chase had woken her and sat back down on the ground with her back against the door of the house.

Santana didn't know how to feel about everything that had just occurred. Everything felt as if it had happened too fast. One minute, her parents were there and she was happy. The next, her mother and father were gone and she was devastated. Now, she had a new legal guardian and her whole life was on its way to being completely different. It was like everything had happened in the blink of an eye.

Santana was so lost in her own thoughts that when Mr. Lowry and Ms. Chase had finished with the papers, she didn't notice until Mr. Lowry spoke.

"Well, I guess we're finished here. I'll just go and take these papers to get processed." He turned away from Ms. Chase to face Santana. "I truly am sorry for what happened to your parents. I've dealt with many deaths in my day, and believe me when I say that it's going to get better."

With that, the lawyer shook hands with Ms. Chase then proceeded to get back inside of his car. He started the engine up and backed out of the drive way then drove off, leaving Santana and Ms. Chase alone. The air was silent between the two females. Santana stared at the ground while Ms. Chase simply stood there.

After a moment, Santana heard footsteps. They came closer and closer until out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ms. Chase kneeling down next to her.

"Santana, honey, how are you holding up?" The woman's voice was filled with nothing but concern. Santana didn't answer. Instead, she turned her head so that she could no longer see Ms. Chase.

"How do you think?" Santana whispered out. She didn't mean for the words to sound as harsh as they did when they came out.

"Well," the older woman said slowly. "I think you're angry because the people you love were unfairly taken away from you. I think you're scared because you've never been without them and your entire life is different now. But most of all..."

Ms. Chase put a comforting hand on Santana's shoulder. It was only then that the brunette looked at her.

"I think you're hurt. You miss your parents, you miss everything about them, especially the little things...You just want to see them again. Am I right?"

Santana let out a huff of air. "You're...you're completely right," she mumbled.

"Mhmm. You know Santana, it may not seem like it, but I am going through a lot of what you're going through right now."

The younger girl furrowed her eyebrows together. "Really?"

Ms. Chase nodded. "You didn't just lose your parents. I lost my closest friends."

Santana stared at the woman and soaked in her words. This whole time, she had only thought about how painful losing her parents was for her. She hadn't even thought about how other people would feel.

"And...how are you dealing with it?" Santana asked.

"I'm dealing with it in the best way that I can. Death is a part of life, Santana. It's never fair and it always hurts, but I know that this is just something that everyone has to go through. And, honey? You know you won't have to go through this alone."

Santana felt her lips tilt up ever so slightly at Ms. Chase's words. She was reminded of what Brittany had said earlier, about her not having to go through everything alone. Here was Ms. Chase saying the exact same thing. The fact that there were people who were willing to stand by her side through a tough time like this made her feel better.

Santana leaned her head back against the door and sat there, deep in thought. She wanted to desperately make the hurt go away, but just like Brittany had said, she would need time. So, she was going to do her best to be patient. She didn't know how much time it would take, but who knows, maybe tomorrow would be different.

Maybe, just maybe...tomorrow would be easier.

* * *

**Wasn't lying when I said this was the longest chapter, huh? The next chapter shouldn't take as long for me to update because I already started on it days ago. Honestly, nearly every day at school when I have free time, I work on this story so please don't think that I ever forget about it. **

**Hope you liked it, thank you for reading, and please review! **


	9. The World Keeps Turning

**Guess what? New chapter!**

* * *

It was Friday. That was the only good thought that entered Santana's mind. So much had happened in the past few days that the week seemed to go on for an eternity.

The previous day, after Mr. Lowry had left and Santana and Ms. Chase had their talk together, the older woman suggested that the brunette go get her things so they could go back to her place and get everything settled. Clearly seeing Santana's hesitation, Ms. Chase looked at her closely with her eyes filled with confusion.

* * *

_"Santana, what's wrong? Do you not want to leave? I mean, I understand. You grew up here. This is your home after all-"_

_"No, it's-it's not that," Santana stuttered. _

_"Then, what is it? You know, you were acting similar to this when Mr. Lowry asked to go inside earlier," Ms. Chase stated._

_Santana took a breath. "It's just...hard. Okay?"_

_It seemed to take the woman a second before she understand completely. "Oh," she whispered. __"Oh, Santana, I'm sorry. I should have known."_

_"No, it's fine," the younger girl said. "I should be able to go inside my own house. I'm just...being silly."_

_"No, you're not being silly," Ms. Chase clarified. "The house obviously reminds you of your parents and that's still a fresh wound, isn't it?"_

_"Yeah," was all Santana replied with. _

_"Okay, so how about this? I could go up and get some of your things for you. Just some clothes and some other stuff that could last you for a bit and when you feel like you're ready to go back in, you can get the rest."_

_Santana was a bit embarrassed that it had to come to the point where someone else had to go in and get her stuff for her. Nonetheless, she nodded her head at the suggestion._

_"Can you unlock the door?" The older woman asked as she stood up._

_"Oh," the brunette said with slight surprise. "Actually, it's uh, it's unlocked. I guess I forgot to lock it when I left earlier."_

_Ms. Chase gave her a small look before she turned the doorknob and went inside. Not too long afterwards, she came back out with one of Santana's old duffel bags._

_"Okay, I got your toothbrush, some stuff you can use for your hair, and some clothes. Hope you don't mind but I just grabbed the first things I saw in your closet and in your dresser."_

_"No, it's fine, Ms. Chase," Santana said as she finally got up from the ground and took the bag. "Thank you, really."_

_"It was no problem, hon. So, ready to go?" The woman asked. _

_Santana took a final look back at the house. This was the place she had spent her whole life in. Where she learned to walk, talk, and ride a bike. Where all those priceless memories were made. This was the place that used to be filled with laughter and happiness. But now...things were different. Now, this was just the place that reminded Santana of what she no longer had. And at the moment, she just didn't want to be here._

_"I'm ready," she said._

* * *

Santana stood in the guest room of Ms. Chase's small, but cozy house. She lazily brushed her hair in front of the mirror that was placed on a wall. She had already gotten dressed in a plain white t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and a hoodie.

Even though Santana didn't feel like it, she knew she had to go to school. Ms. Chase reassured her that if she honestly didn't have the energy, she could stay in the house, but Santana had waved off the statement. She wasn't in the mood for school, but the work would keep her busy.

Santana finished with her hair and placed the brush back in the duffel bag where it had come from. As if on cue, Ms. Chase knocked on the door.

"Santana? I made some breakfast...that is, if you're hungry."

The brunette heard older woman's footsteps as she walked away from the door and back down the hallway to the kitchen. She had noticed the hesitation in Ms. Chase's voice when she was speaking. That was maybe due to the fact that Santana hadn't eaten anything at all yesterday, not even when Ms. Chase offered to make her dinner. Though, she had to admit that she was hungry. Breakfast sounded fantastic.

Santana left out of the room and made her way to the kitchen. When she entered it, she saw Ms. Chase spreading jelly onto a piece of toast. Santana casually cleared her throat and the woman lifted her head up to see her standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Good morning, Santana. Why don't you sit down?"

Santana went over to the small kitchen table and sat down. Ms Chase walked over to the counter where she picked up a plate then went back over to Santana and set it down in front of her. On the plate was some toast and a few pieces of bacon. It was a simple meal, but in that moment, Santana had never seen anything more appetizing.

"Do you want some jelly or butter for your toast?" Ms. Chase asked.

"Uh, no. I'm fine without it," Santana replied. "Thank you for the food, though."

"Don't thank me, sweetie. I wouldn't be a very good guardian if I didn't feed you."

Ms. Chase sat down at the table in the seat in front of Santana and started to eat her jelly covered toast. Santana followed suit. To say the least, she ate the food with much enthusiasm. She made a mental note to never go so long without food again. When she was done with the food, she wiped her hands on her jeans and checked the time on the clock above the stove.

"Uh, school starts in twenty minutes and I don't want to be late, I should..." Santana had her hand on her pants pocket to get a feel of her car keys only to realize that she didn't have them. "Crap. I forgot, I left my car at home."

Home. The word sounded foreign on her tongue. It was like she was speaking of a place that no longer existed.

"That's alright, Santana," Ms. Chase chimed in. "I believe I have enough time to drop you off before I need to be at work. Let me just put these dishes away."

Before Santana could make any objections, the woman was already on her feet. She took her plate and Santana's and went to place them in the sink.

"I'll just go grab my purse out of my room and we'll be off, okay?"

Santana nodded in response and Ms. Chase left out of the kitchen. She was back a few moments later with her purse and keys in hand.

"Ready to leave? Do you have everything you need?" The older woman asked.

"Well...I don't have my backpack with me, but most of my school stuff is in my locker, so." Santana shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay, well let's get going," Ms. Chase said.

And before Santana knew it, she was once again in Ms. Chase's car being driven to school. It was safe to say that the brunette was slightly nervous about being in a car due to the circumstances, but she didn't let her uneasiness show. She stayed quiet the entire car ride as did Ms. Chase. Santana zoned out the world around her and was plenty surprised when she found that they were already at McKinley after what seemed like little to no time.

Ms. Chase pulled into the school's parking lot and stopped at a curb to let Santana out.

"Thanks for driving me," she told the older woman.

"No problem," Ms. Chase replied. "What time is okay for me to pick you up?"

"Uh, four is fine," Santana answered. She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the car door.

"Have a nice day," she heard Ms. Chase say. She stepped out onto the pavement and closed the door behind her. Ms. Chase drove off, leaving her standing on the sidewalk.

"Well," Santana muttered quietly to her self as she looked up at the school building. "Here's hoping today is easier."

* * *

Brittany was really glad it was a Friday. After school was over, she had a 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. shift at The Pizza Domain and although that was going to be a lot of work, Jonathan had been nice enough to give her the weekend off. It had been so long since she had gotten a couple of days just to rest and she planned to take full advantage of it.

After her long walk from her apartment, Brittany had finally made it to school. She walked inside of the building and saw on a clock that was placed on a wall near the front office that there was still about ten minutes left before the start of class. She had never been this early before. She didn't think it was necessary to go wait in class until it started. Plus, she didn't want to sit in a room with no one but Ms. Lawrence in there.

Brittany figured that aimlessly walking around was her best option. She set off down the hallway with no particular destination in mind. She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jeans and hummed quietly to herself.

Not many people were in the halls except the underclassmen. Most of the students who owned cars had habits of showing up at the last minute. It didn't take long before Brittany had gotten bored with walking. She stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked around. She had to admit that she liked the school a lot better when it wasn't completely filled to the brim with students pushing against each other trying to get to class.

Everything was peaceful at the moment and Brittany loved it. She turned around and started walking back in the direction she came from. She rounded a corner and immediately stopped in her tracks. It was a good thing she did so or else she would have run head first into Santana Lopez.

"Oh my god," the brunette girl said as she put a hand over her chest. "You- you scared me."

"Oh, sorry." Brittany replied sheepishly.

The two simply stared at each other for a second before Santana cleared her throat. "Uh, hi," she said almost shyly.

"Hey," Brittany said back. "Are you...doing okay?"

Santana nodded slightly. "I'm doing a bit better. I mean, don't think I'm going to start crying or anything."

The blonde offered a small smile in response. "That's, uh, that's nice," she said. Then silence. Completely aware of the awkwardness, Santana decided to do them both a small favor.

"Well, I gotta go, uh, get some stuff out of my locker," she told Brittany. "So...I'll see you later, I guess."

"Oh. Okay." Brittany said quietly. Santana gave her a tiny grin then moved around her to continue walking. Brittany glanced back at her then walked away also. She wasn't surprised at how their small conversation had went. She suspected that things would be awkward between them.

She and Santana were no longer alone on a swing behind her apartment building. They were both back here at school, and for whatever reason, stepping inside the walls of McKinley was like stepping back into the real world. The real world where Brittany was still the school outcast who know one paid much attention to. Not even Santana Lopez.

A nearly inaudible sigh left Brittany's lips. Yesterday was over, and she just knew that today would be different.

Class, however, was another story. When the time came for class to start, she made her way to the proper room. First period History with Ms. Lawrence was the same as ever, except Brittany noticed that a few other students had gone up to Santana. No doubt they were giving her their condolences for losing her parents.

Other than that, nothing was changed. Brittany didn't pay much attention in class. She scribbled down a few notes from time to time and kept to herself the entire period, just as usual. When the bell rang signaling the end of class, Brittany was one of the first people out of the room.

She made her way to her second class and everything after that went by rather quickly. Before she knew it, the school day was coming to a close. Brittany was sitting at a desk in her last class of the day, when the last bell finally rang. She got out of her seat and left the class. She walked down the hallway towards the main entrance, squeezing through the hoard of students on her way.

She was just a few steps away from the front door of the school when something stopped her. Well, actually, someone stopped her. Brittany felt a hand on her arm. Her immediate reaction was to jump. She turned around abruptly and faced who it was that stopped her. It was Santana.

"Oh!" Brittany exclaimed. Then slightly embarrassed by the volume of her voice, she added in a quieter tone. "Uh, you scared me."

"Sorry about that," Santana said. "Um, before you leave...can we talk?"

Brittany furrowed her eyebrows together, somewhat surprised. Nonetheless, she obliged to Santana's request. "Yeah, okay."

Santana led them both outside. She walked down the sidewalk for a moment so that they were no longer crowded by too many students, and Brittany followed. When they stopped, sat down on the cement and leaned her back against the school building. Brittany chose to do the same.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" The blonde asked.

"I, uh..." Santana paused for a moment. "I don't know really."

Well, that wasn't the response that Brittany had expected to hear. "Okay..."

"I mean, I saw you in the hallway and I don't know. I just guess I wanted to give this another try," Santana told her.

"Give what another try?" Brittany asked. Now Santana was confusing her.

"You know," Santana shrugged. "A conversation."

"Oh. Right," Brittany responded. Another attempt at a conversation. That made some sense.

"Yeah. Because, y'know, when we ran into each other this morning, well...it was awkward."

Brittany nodded in agreement. "Honestly, it still kinda is awkward," she said quietly.

"I know and...I don't really want things to be that way," Santana admitted. Well, so long as they were being truthful...

"Um, well, neither do I, but- and no offense, but this is actually kind of strange for me," Brittany said. Santana looked at her with an expression that she couldn't quite make out.

"How so?" The brunette asked. Brittany thought about it for a second.

"Well, you're Santana Lopez and I'm Brittany Pierce. Nearly everyone here knows who we are, but for different reasons. When people hear your name, they think positively. When people here my name, they think negatively." Brittany said all of this in a single rushed breath.

"We come from different worlds and different backgrounds," she continued. "We honestly couldn't be more different. I mean, yeah, when we were talking together yesterday, I'll admit that it wasn't as strange. But now we're here at school, where people are...judgmental."

Brittany stopped talking and sat there, surprised at herself. She honestly hadn't meant to say all of that, especially that last sentence, but it had all just slipped out. Brittany waited for Santana to answer, but all she heard was agonizing silence. Minutes seemed to go by before Santana finally spoke.

"So, are you telling me that...that you think the people here will pick on you for talking to me?" Santana had a confused expression on her face as she spoke.

"No," Brittany answered truthfully. She didn't want to go any further, but the look on Santana's face told her she had to. "It's the exact opposite, actually. I think that you will get picked on...because of me."

"Brittany, do you really think that that's going to happen?" Santana asked.

Brittany thought the answer was self explanatory. "Well...yeah. Let's be real here. You're the school genius. Everyone respects you. Me, on the other hand, I'm just everyone's favorite punching bag. And, like I said, these people here are judgmental. A person could do one tiny embarrassing thing and everyone will remember it forever. Imagine what they'll do when they find out that you started hanging around me."

"I honestly don't care what they'll do," Santana told her firmly. "And neither should you."

Brittany was about to respond, but the sound of a car horn stopped her. Santana looked over her shoulder and saw a familiar car a few feet away. Brittany could slightly make out that a woman who looked to be in her middle ages was behind the wheel. She wondered who it was. It was apparent that she and Santana knew each other.

"I gotta go," Santana sighed. She stood up from the sidewalk and tucked a binder underneath her arm. She took a step forward, stopped, then turned to Brittany.

"You know," Santana started. "If we choose to hang out together, that's our business. It shouldn't matter what anyone else in this school thinks because their opinions aren't important. Just forget them."

Santana then walked away from Brittany and completed the small distance between her and the car and got in. Moments later, the car drove off. Brittany didn't bother to stay there much longer after Santana left. She had to get home soon if she didn't want to be late for work later on.

* * *

Santana and Ms. Chase made it back to the older woman's house not too long after they left the school parking lot. Ms. Chase unlocked the door to her house and they both went inside.

"Um, I'm gonna go do my homework," Santana told her almost as soon as she stepped through the threshold.

"Alright, hon," Ms. Chase replied. "I have a few things I need to do also. Help yourself to a snack if you like."

Santana nodded although she wasn't really hungry at the moment. "Okay."

The brunette left the front hallway and went to the guest room where she resided. She sat down on the bed and opened the binder she had brought with her. She pulled out multiple worksheets and got to work.

A while later, she was finished with everything. It took longer than she thought. Physics was such a pain. Santana put away her homework in her binder and laid back in her bed. She stayed that way for a moment, then felt her stomach rumble.

She thought about what Ms. Chase had told her earlier. She could use a snack. Santana got out of the bed and left the room. She walked down to the kitchen and glanced around for any food. She saw a fruit bowl sitting on the counter and went over to it. She took out an apple, went to the sink to rinse it off a bit, then took a bite.

She continued eating and halfway through finishing the apple, Ms. Chase came into the kitchen.

"Oh, hello, Santana," she said. "Are you finished with your homework?"

"Yeah," Santana replied. "I don't have anything else to do now."

"Well, actually, I wanted to speak with you about something," Ms. Chase said. There was something about her tone that made Santana think that she was about to be told something very important.

Ms. Chase sat down at the kitchen table. "Now, I know you may not want to discuss this, but this is something that has to be taken care of."

"Oh. What is it?" Santana asked with apprehension.

The older woman took a breath. "Funeral arrangements."

Santana suddenly tensed up and felt her insides freeze. Ms. Chase was right when she assumed that she wouldn't have wanted to discuss this. After all, this was a topic she had been dreading.

* * *

Brittany walked through the doors of The Pizza Domain exactly on time for her shift. She knew she was on serving duty today so she went to the back to check in and get her notepad and pen. When she got there, she saw the assistant manager, Leslie, giving orders to a few other employees.

"Hey, Leslie," Brittany said, catching the other girl's attention. "Where's Jonathan?"

"Oh, he had a doctor's appointment. You know, 'cause of his arm."

Brittany nodded. "Oh, okay. So I guess that means you're in charge tonight."

"Yep," Leslie clarified. "I don't want to be all strict or anything, but I also don't want to lose my position, so please go out there and do the best job you can do."

"Alright. I can do that." Brittany responded. Leslie then told her what tables she was in charge of tonight. Brittany grabbed the items she needed in order to take orders then went out.

Brittany leaned against the counter and looked around. She was in charge of tables 3, 5, and 6. She saw that no one was seated at tables 3 and 5 yet. Table 6, however, was occupied by the last people she had wanted to see. She recognized them from her math class. One of them was a girl, the other was a boy. It looked as if they were on a date.

Brittany sighed to herself. Neither of them ever paid much attention to her in class, but the sneers they often gave her when she answered a question wrong was enough to tell her what they thought of her. For a second, she considered going to Leslie to ask whether she could switch tables with someone.

Brittany noticed that the look on the girl's face was growing to be impatient. She remembered what Leslie had said about not wanting to lose her position, so she didn't want there to be any bad reviews. She decided to just put aside her nervousness and go take their orders.

She left the counter and started to make her way to the couple. "Their opinions aren't important," Brittany found herself repeating Santana's words from earlier under her breath. "Just forget them," she muttered.

If only it was that easy.

* * *

**As always, thanks for reading and please review, it would be much appreciated! **


	10. A Parting of Ways: Part I

"Now, Santana, I do realize that this is hard for you, but your parents cannot stay in the hospital morgue forever."

Ms. Chase's voice rang throughout the small kitchen and although she was no more than a few feet away from Santana, her voice sounded distant to the younger girl.

"Look, I know that there needs to be a funeral for my parents, but I...I wouldn't even know where to start," Santana answered. Her throat felt unusually dry, almost too dry.

"Santana, you know I'm going to help with this," Ms. Chase told her soothingly. "I'll even pay for all of the expenses."

At that, Santana shook her head. "No, you, uh, you don't have to do that. I could use some of the money my parents left me." Ms. Chase had already taken the brunette into her home and willingly took the role of her legal guardian. Santana didn't want to push it by making the woman spend her money on her.

"Don't worry about it, Santana," Ms. Chase replied. "I'll pay for it all because I want to do this for your mother and father. My friends."

Santana didn't respond. She instead looked down at the kitchen floor and hugged herself so that her hands were resting on her upper arms. She knew she had to do this. She'd be a terrible daughter if she didn't take responsibility and help send her parents off into their final resting place.

"What do we have to do?" Santana finally asked weakly. For a split second, Ms. Chase seemed to have a relieved look on her face, like she was glad Santana hadn't chosen to bail.

"Well, I've already put some thought into this," the woman answered. "I've already contacted a funeral home and spoken to a funeral director. His name is Richard O'Leary and he will assist us with some of the decisions and help with planning and all we have to do is meet up with him and...participate."

Santana could tell that Ms. Chase was trying to ease her into the situation and make it seem to be not completely stressful.

"Okay," Santana said. "Okay. So, um, when do we meet up with the Richard guy?"

Ms. Chase pondered that for a second. "I could give him a call and find out when he's free to see us."

"Alright," Santana replied. Neither of the two said anything after. There was a somewhat comfortable silence in the room. Although Santana wasn't nearly as comfortable as she let on, she didn't want Ms. Chase to think otherwise.

Finally, Ms. Chase stood up from the chair she had been sitting in. "Why don't I go make that call now and then I'll get started on dinner, okay?"

Santana gave her a small head bob in response. With a sympathetic smile, Ms. Chase left the kitchen. It was only after the woman was gone that Santana's entire stature seemed to deflate. She reached behind her and grabbed the kitchen counter in order to support her weight because her legs weren't doing such a good job.

Santana discarded the half-eaten apple onto the counter. She had forgotten she was even holding it. She let out a raggedy breath and brought a hand up to run it through her hair.

She was going to plan a funeral. Her parents' funeral. The whole thing was just so surreal. In a matter of days, she would have to see her parents again. Only the difference was that she was going to have to see them getting buried six feet underground.

The thought made the dry feeling in her throat return. Santana tried swallowing, but her throat continued to feel like sandpaper. Not knowing what else to do, she crossed the short distance over to the kitchen sink. She turned the knob, letting the water run. She then cupped her hands under the faucet, gathered water in palms, then brought her hands up to her lips.

Santana quickly drank the water, wiped her hands on her pants, then turned the sink handle so that the water was no longer running. She had to admit that the water helped a bit, but she could still feel the dryness in her throat.

Just then, Santana heard the muffled sound of Ms. Chase's footsteps walking towards the kitchen. She moved away from the sink and grabbed the forgotten apple off of the counter, then threw it away in the nearby trashcan. After that, she leaned against the kitchen counter so that she was basically in the same position she had been in when Ms. Chase had left.

Not too long later, the older woman reentered the kitchen. "So, Richard said that we could see him anytime this evening or tomorrow," she said.

"Oh, okay," Santana replied. "When are we going?"

"Whatever time suits you best, hon." Ms. Chase gave Santana a grin and waited for her to answer.

"Alright, well...how about tomorrow," Santana told her. "I'm a bit tired right now, anyway."

Ms. Chase nodded. "Okay. We'll go tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll start on dinner, like I said. Why don't you go rest some since you said you were tired? I'll get you when I'm finished in here."

"Okay...I'll see you later, then." Santana turned on her heel and made her way out of the kitchen. She walked down the hallway to her room and went inside. She quietly closed the door behind her and went to go sit on the edge of the bed.

Santana laid back on the mattress and stared up at the ceiling. She exhaled noisily and rested her arms on her torso. She actually wasn't tired at all. If she was being honest, she doubted that she would get any sleep at all with the thought of burying her parents on her mind.

Of course thinking about it made her sad, but if anything, Santana was more scared than upset. She didn't know why she felt that way, she just did.

Santana scooted up the bed until her head was laying on a pillow. She rolled over onto her side and brought her arm up to rest her head upon. Her eyes raked over the bareness of the wall she was facing. Her thoughts drifted back to her room, her old room, back in her house. The walls there were covered head to toe with posters, pictures, ribbons, and whatever else she could fit onto it.

Santana sighed. She really did miss her old room. Hopefully she could go back one day without the feeling of dread. Hopefully one day soon.

Santana's gaze continued to trail along the wall, until something caught her eye. It was her duffel bag on the floor in the corner near the bed. She didn't know why she hadn't bothered to put the clothes in the bag inside the dresser on the other side of the room.

Suddenly feeling the need to do something provocative, Santana got out of the bed and took her duffel bag in hand. She sat it on the mattress and opened it. She took the clothes out, one by one, folding them neatly.

After she had folded about half of the clothing items that were in the bag, Santana reached in to grab another one, but stopped when her hand bumped against the edge of something hard. She peered into the bag and moved some of the clothes out of the way to see what it was.

Santana froze when she saw it. It was a picture frame. The very picture frame that she had clutched to her chest as she fell asleep in her parents' bed not even a few days ago. It was the picture of her on her bicycle when she was younger with her parents smiling in the background.

But...how did it get in there? The answer came into Santana's head almost immediately. Obviously, Ms. Chase had put it in there when she had gone to get Santana's clothes. But another question was forming in the brunette's head. Why? Why had Ms. Chase gotten it for her?

Santana looked down at the picture and felt a new wave of emotion take over her. When she had seen the picture a couple of days ago on her parents' bedside table, the only thing she felt was grief. Now, however, something was different. She couldn't quite place her finger on it, but what she felt now, it was almost...comforting.

Santana took the frame out of the duffel bag, then walked across the room to place it on top of the dresser. She stared at it for a moment then caressed the glass with her thumb. She let her hand drop not too long afterwards and went back to the bed to continue folding the rest of her clothes.

Little did Santana know, seeing that picture was exactly what she had needed at that moment.

* * *

"Brittany! New customers at table three!"

Brittany jumped slightly at Leslie's voice coming from behind her. She got up from the chair she was sitting in and started to make her way out of the employee break room.

"Right, I'm on it," she replied. Brittany took her notepad and pen out from her pocket and held them in hand. She walked into the dining area and looked towards table 3. Thankfully, it wasn't inhabited by anyone from McKinley, instead there were two adult women who were dressed somewhat professionally.

One woman had curly, brown hair hanging loosely around her shoulders and the other had strawberry blonde hair, tied back into a pony tail. Brittany noticed a folder filled with papers on the table and concluded that they were on some sort of a business dinner. Funny. Brittany didn't think a pizzeria was the most appropriate place to talk business. Knowing that the two women were strangers who looked nice enough to not judge her, Brittany put on her best customer friendly smile and went over to them.

"Hello," Brittany said when she arrived at the table. "I'm Brittany and I'll be your server for this evening. Are you ready to start ordering?"

"Oh, hi," the woman with the brown hair greeted with a smile similar to Brittany's. "Yes, we are ready to order. A small cheese pizza will be all."

"No drinks?" Brittany asked as she wrote down the order.

"Oh, right. I forgot about that," the brunette laughed lightly. "I'll have a lemonade and she'll have..." The woman trailed off, seeming to be thinking about something.

"I'll just have -" the other woman started to speak, but was cut off by the brunette.

"No, no, wait! Let me guess," she said. The strawberry blonde giggled and gestured for her friend to continue. "She'll have a...an iced tea!" The brunette said proudly.

The other woman playfully applauded her and smiled. "You got it," she said.

Brittany couldn't help but grin at their little interaction as she wrote down their drink orders. "Will that be all?"

"Yes," both women said simultaneously.

"Okay, I'll be back with your food in a bit," Brittany told them. She left the table and went to give the order to the kitchen.

Instead of going back inside the break room, Brittany chose to wait at the front counter. Her eyes found the two women she had just served. For whatever reason, she really liked them even though she didn't know them.

Brittany knew that staring was rude and creepy, but she couldn't bring herself to look away from the two. She watched as the woman with the strawberry blonde hair laughed at something the brunette had said. They both seemed so happy that Brittany felt a slight rush of jealousy go through her body. She wished she could have that much fun with someone.

Brittany finally turned away from the women, letting them have their privacy. She stood at the counter, simply doodling in her notepad for a few more minutes until someone from inside the kitchen spoke out.

"Hey, Pierce, your order's ready."

Brittany turned around and saw a fellow coworker walking towards her with a tray in hand. She took it from him and made sure everything was right. A small cheese pizza, one lemonade, and one iced tea. Everything was there, so Brittany made her way back over to the expecting table.

"Here you go," Brittany placed the proper drinks in front of the correct women then set the pizza onto the table. "Enjoy your meal, and if there's anything else you want, just ask."

"Thank you," the brunette woman said. "But I think that we're good."

Brittany gave them a small smile before walking away from their table, leaving them to their food. Since no one else occupied any of the other tables she was in charge of, she headed back to the break room.

Brittany sat down in one of the chairs and picked up a magazine that had been left on the table and flipped through it. After about fifteen minutes, she was notified that there was a new customer at table 5 that she needed to serve. She left the break room and went over to the table where there sat a single man and made to take his order.

A few minutes afterwards, she brought the man his food and drink. She noticed that the two women at table 3 seemed to be finishing up with everything, so she told the man to have a good meal and went over to the women.

"Are you two finding everything alright?" Brittany asked.

"Yes, everything was great," said the strawberry blonde. "In fact, I do believe we're ready for the check."

"Okay, I'll be back in a minute with it," Brittany said. She left to go get a checkbook then hurried back to the table. "Here you go."

Brittany set the checkbook down on the table and the brunette woman snatched it before the other could. The strawberry blonde looked as if she was going to complain, but the brunette spoke before she could.

"I already told you that I'm paying. It was my idea to come here, anyway." The brunette took her purse in hand and opened it.

"Fine," said the other woman. "But I'm paying for the next one."

"Oh, so there's going to be a next one?" The brunette said teasingly, her lips formed in a cheeky smile.

The strawberry blonde grinned and rolled her eyes. "Just pay the check and we'll see."

Brittany would have found their entire interaction funny to witness had she been paying attention, but something had caught her eye. She noticed that the folder she saw earlier on the table was now open and on one of the papers inside the folder, in printed bold, were the words:

**The Lima Youth Care Center**

Brittany stared at the paper with increased curiosity. A youth care center? She had heard of those before, but she had never seen one in Lima.

"Um, hello? Are you...alright?"

Brittany heard the voice of the woman and snapped her head up. "Oh, um, I- I'm fine."

The brunette woman looked down at the paper Brittany had previously been staring at. "Uh, did you find something interesting about this?"

Brittany looked down at the ground sheepishly, then glanced back up at the woman. "Sorry. I, um, didn't mean to stare at your stuff. I was just wondering about, uh...has there always been a youth care center in Lima? It's just that I've never seen one here before."

"Oh," the brunette grinned. "Actually, the building just opened about a little less than a month ago."

Brittany didn't know why she found herself so interested in the place. Her level of curiosity was higher than she thought it would normally be. Nonetheless, she was somewhat intrigued by both the care center and the women in front of her.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly goes on at a youth care center?" Brittany asked.

"Well, it's kind of what it sounds like," the brunette stated. "We give therapeutic help and advice to children and teenagers alike, who have had rather tough lives. You know, kids who have dealt with stuff like abuse, mistreatment, and bullying."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," Brittany murmured quietly to herself.

"Sorry?" The woman asked, her brow furrowed.

Brittany's eyes slightly widened when she realized she had spoken aloud. "Oh, uh, nothing," she said quickly.

The two women exchanged a look that Brittany couldn't comprehend. They seemed to be having a silent conversation with each other. Brittany couldn't tell whether or not they were going to say anything else, so she considered just taking the check and leaving them be.

"Listen," the strawberry blonde spoke up. "You said your name was...Brittany, was it?"

"Mhm," Brittany hummed.

"Well, I'm Marissa and that's Victoria," she pointed to the brunette who Brittany now knew was named Victoria. "You seem to be interested in our care center, so tell you what..."

The woman named Marissa reached inside her purse, dug around for a bit, then pulled out a light blue card. She handed it to Brittany, who took it somewhat timidly.

"Why don't you come check it out sometime?" Marissa requested casually. "The address is on the card, I don't think the building would be too hard to find."

"And if you do decide to come, ask for one of us at the front desk," said Victoria with a smile. "We'll be happy to show you around."

"Okay, um, thanks, I guess," Brittany said as she pocketed the card.

"Well, we really should get going," Marissa commented, checking her watch.

"Alright. Here's the check," Victoria handed it to Brittany. "It was nice meeting you."

"Yeah, nice meeting you two, also," Brittany replied. Marissa grinned in response while Victoria gave her a little wave. Brittany then left their table and went over to the front counter and leaned her back against it.

She watched as the two women gathered their things, stood up from the table, then started to make their way out of the building. Brittany reached inside her pocket and pulled out the card she was given just a minute ago. Going to a youth care center just to check it out didn't seem too bad. It sounded kind of...interesting.

Brittany looked up from the card just in time to see Marissa and Victoria leave out of the building and towards the parking lot, huddled together with their arms linked. Very interesting.

Brittany stuffed the little blue card back in her pocket once more and was about to go check on how the other customer she was serving was doing, when suddenly she saw a familiar figure enter through the door. It was Jonathan.

Her boss casually made his way through the maze of tables and walked up to her at the counter. "Hey, Britt," he greeted. His voice sounded tired as if he was about to go take a nap or like he had just woken up from one.

"Hi, Jonathan. What are you doing here?" Brittany asked.

"Well, I do own the place," he replied with a light shrug.

"No, but Leslie said you had a doctor's appointment," Brittany clarified. "That's why I'm asking."

"Oh," Jonathan waved his non-broken hand. "It, uh, it got...cancelled."

Brittany looked closely at Jonathan and noticed that his face looked almost pale. "Whoa, are you okay? You look kinda sick." She said.

"Yeah," Jonathan sighed. "I'm all good. I just heard some pretty shocking news while I was at the hospital."

"Oh, what was it? Wait..." Brittany paused. "You don't have some serious disease, do you?"

If Jonathan wasn't so out of it, he might have laughed, instead he simply shook his head. "No, Britt, it's got nothing to do with me. You remember when my doctor came here for dinner with her husband?"

"Yeah." Brittany nodded.

"Well, it, uh, it turns out that after they left here the other day, they got into a really bad car accident. They were hurt real bad and taken to the hospital they work at, but the damage was too much and well...they didn't make it."

Brittany froze. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Those two doctors...a car accident. But...no. "Wha- what?"

"Yeah, it's crazy, right?" Jonathan ran a hand through his hair. "Apparently, it was on the news, but I overslept that morning and didn't catch it. I just found out when I showed up at the hospital for my appointment. It's just insane how this stuff happens, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Brittany wheezed out. "Insane."

"Well...I guess I should go check on everyone. See if things are going smoothly around here." Jonathan gently patted Brittany on the shoulder then walked past her to go into the break room.

It wasn't until her boss was completely out of sight that Brittany let out the harshest of breaths. "Oh my g- god," she gasped out. A man and a woman in a car accident. Both doctors...both dead. That was no coincidence.

Brittany turned around towards the counter so that her back was facing everyone else in the restaurant. She rested her elbows on the smooth surface, then buried her face in her hands. Why didn't she see it before? No wonder they both looked so familiar.

Suddenly, Brittany felt sick to her stomach. She had seen Santana Lopez's parents that day. She had seen them right before they...

"Oh my god," Brittany muttered to herself once more. Jonathan was right. This was completely insane.

* * *

**Okay, I have good news and more good news. The good news is that I'm finally out of school so I can focus more on this story. The more good news is that suddenly, about a million and one ideas for the way this story is going to go have recently popped into my head. I literally have everything planned out, I just need to write it.**

**As always, thank you all for reading and please tell me what you think!**


	11. Different Emotions

Lima Funeral Home. Those three words were all it took for Santana to know that this was really happening. She and Ms. Chase were walking up the stairs of the building on their way to meet Richard O'Leary, the man who would help them plan Santana's parents' funeral. Each step she took towards the funeral home, Santana felt as if she was getting closer and closer to cold, hard reality.

She wanted more than anything to turn back. To go back to her home and lay in her bed while listening to her mother bustling around in the kitchen, making breakfast and to her father's smooth, melodic voice singing 80s classics in the shower. Santana just wanted to go back. But she couldn't.

In less time than she had wished, Santana and Ms. Chase were already at the front doors of the funeral home. Her godmother opened the door and walked in first, Santana following after. They were first met with a stocky woman behind a receptionist desk. She was typing away on a computer, then raised her head up when she saw them walking towards her.

"Hello, welcome to the Lima Funeral Home," the receptionist said in a somewhat bored voice. Santana figured her job wasn't the most interesting. "How may I help you?"

"We're scheduled to meet a Richard O'Leary," Ms. Chase spoke up.

"Ah. Go down the hallway, take a left, third door on your right. You'll see him there," the woman told them.

"Thank you," Ms. Chase said. "Come on, Santana."

They both started down the hallway, turned when they were meant to, and soon, they stood in front of a room marked No. 7. Ms. Chase knocked on the smooth wood and no less than a second later, a "come in" was heard from the other side of the door.

Ms. Chase turned the knob and opened the door. Both females stepped inside and faced the man sitting behind the desk. He had dark brown hair, combed over to the side. He wore glasses and a button down gray shirt. He held a pen in one hand, softly tapping it on the desk.

"Hello," he grinned.

"Hello," Ms. Chase said back. "I'm Clare, we spoke over the phone about the arrangements of the Lopez funeral."

Santana inwardly flinched at the words 'Lopez' and 'funeral' in the same sentence.

"Oh, right," Richard nodded in realization. "Please, sit down."

He gestured to the two chairs that sat in front of his desk. Santana and Ms. Chase made there way over to them and sat down.

Ms. Chase cleared her throat and smiled at the man. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us, Richard. As I said, I'm Clare and this is Santana. She is the daughter of the deceased couple."

Richard gave Santana the sympathetic look that she had already grown accustomed to.

"I'm sorry to hear that," the man told her. "I know it's hard. I've lost my fair share of family members, but it's just a part of life, you know."

Santana shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Yeah. Yeah, I know," she muttered.

"And I assume that you are her legal guardian?" Richard said to Ms. Chase.

The woman nodded. "Yes."

"Right," he said to quietly to himself. He opened a desk drawer and pulled out a notepad and a pen.

"Well, Santana, seeing as you are the daughter, that gives you complete control over the arrangements of the funeral," Richard said.

It wasn't as if Santana didn't know that she had to make most of the decisions, but as she had told Ms. Chase the previous day, she wouldn't know where to start. She must have had a look on her face because Richard glanced at her then spoke up again.

"Don't feel too under pressure, Santana. I'm here to help you with this. That's my job," he grinned.

"Okay," was all Santana said.

"Alright," Richard uncapped the pen in his hand. "We have a lot to discuss. We should get started."

"Let's," Ms. Chase agreed.

Santana didn't say a word. She leaned back in her chair and stared at the notepad on the desk. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Brittany exhaled noisily and stood up from her mattress. For about the fifth time that day, she found herself pacing back and forth in the small space of her apartment. To say the least, the blonde was at a bit of a crossroads.

Brittany had always reserved the weekend for her own tasks. When she wasn't at work or using her free time to rest she would be doing something else to keep her busy. Usually on Saturdays, she would do her schoolwork and on Sundays, she would go out and use the money she had to get a few groceries to last her a bit.

But now she had a new option. Brittany turned and saw the little blue card that she had been given the other day on the counter. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought about going to the youth care center. In all honesty, she did want to go check it out, but she didn't know if she should.

Truth be told, Brittany was still confused about why the two women, Marissa and Victoria, had asked her to come. Did they usually go out and look for kids who they thought should go to the care center? The real question was, did Brittany consider herself so damaged that she needed the care center?

Well, there was only one way to find out. Brittany walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed the blue card. She held it up to her eyes to read the address. She recognized the street name, it wasn't too far from her apartment building. She stuck the card in her pocket, grabbed her house key off the counter, then walked towards a corner near the door where she kept her shoes.

She slipped them on then looked down at her clothes to make sure that her appearance was satisfactory. Finally, she opened the door and went out into the hallway. She closed the door behind her and locked it before walking away.

Soon, she was out of the apartment building and headed in the correct direction of the youth care center. Luckily, Brittany knew her way around town well enough so there was a small possibility that she would get lost. She walked on for about fifteen minutes before she saw the street sign she was looking for.

Brittany turned a corner and saw multiple buildings. She made her way down the street looking for the proper one. Finally, she saw it. It was a building about the size of McKinley except the words The Lima Youth Care Center were printed in bold above the entrance.

Various cars were sitting in the parking lot and Brittany even saw a few people walking in. With a final thought, she headed down the sidewalk and made the small distance to front of the building. She walked up to the entrance and slowly opened the door.

Brittany stepped inside and moved out of the doorway so she wasn't blocking it. There was a receptionist desk in front of her, but a couple of other people were already standing there, talking to the woman behind it so Brittany decided to stand back and wait near a bench against the wall. Her gaze traveled from right to left and from top to bottom as she took in her surroundings.

The front hallway continued on for about ten more feet and ended at the base of a stairwell that led upstairs. On the other side of the receptionist desk, there was an entryway that led to a hall with rooms that Brittany was positive were offices. The walls were painted the same light blue color as the business card. The floor was covered in marble tile. Brittany also noticed that the air smelled faintly of cleaning supplies.

"May I help you?"

Brittany turned abruptly at the sound of the voice. Her eyes found the receptionist looking at her expectantly.

"Oh, um..." Brittany hesitated, then remembered what she had been told yesterday. "Uh, is either Marissa or Victoria here?"

"Ms. Stephens doesn't come in today," the woman told her, "but Ms. West is here at the moment."

Brittany nodded, not knowing which of the two women was Ms. West since they had only told her their first names. Meanwhile, the receptionist picked up the phone that was on the desk, pressed a few buttons, then held it up to her ear.

"Ms. West, there is a young girl here to see you," the woman paused for a moment then looked up to Brittany. "Name?"

"Oh, Brittany," the blonde answered quickly.

The receptionist repeated her name into the receiver and after a few more seconds, she hung up. "She said to wait here and she'll come see you in a second."

"Okay, thank you." Brittany replied. She sat down on the bench and waited for Ms. West, who could have been either Marissa or Victoria.

Not even a minute later, a familiar woman appeared in the entryway next to the receptionist desk. It was Victoria. Her curly, brown hair was pulled back into a bun, except for a few strands that fell loose in front of her face. She was wearing an outfit similar to the one she had been wearing at The Pizza Domain.

When she saw Brittany, she smiled widely and walked towards her. "Hello again."

"Hi," Brittany said, returning the smile.

"You know, I was a bit skeptical when I was told that you were here," Victoria told her, "but, here you are."

"Well, I thought it couldn't hurt to come."

"Right, well, like I said, I'd be happy to show you around. It's kind of a big building, so it may take some time," Victoria responded.

"Oh, that's okay," Brittany said as she stood up from the bench. "I don't really have anywhere else I need to be anytime soon."

"Alright, well let's get started!"

Victoria gestured for Brittany to follow her and soon they were both ascending up the stairwell to see the rest of building.

* * *

"Santana?"

Santana snapped her head up from her lap to see Ms. Chase standing in the doorway of her room. Strangely, she hadn't even heard the door open.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Just wanted to let you know that if you're hungry, there's some snacks in the kitchen," Ms. Chase told her.

"Oh, okay. Thanks," the younger girl replied quietly, looking back down to her lap.

Ms. Chase stayed there in the doorway for a moment longer then chose to speak once more. "You know, Santana, I realize that it's rather early, but why don't you consider getting some rest? After all, tomorrow is going to be a big day."

Then she left, shutting the door softly behind her. Santana sighed and brought her knees up to her chest. Yes, tomorrow was going to be a big day. That was the day they had decided to hold her parents' funeral ceremony. She knew that it was a bit early, seeing as they had just met up to discuss the arrangements today, but Santana just wanted to get through this.

Since the funeral was tomorrow, Santana and Ms. Chase had to decide on everything with Richard at once. It wasn't going to be a big funeral, Santana actually didn't know if a lot of people were coming. Nonetheless, they had been discussing and planning for hours. In fact, they had just made it back to Ms. Chase's home a little less than twenty minutes ago.

This time tomorrow, Santana was going to be saying her final goodbye to her parents. She knew it was going to have to happen sometime, she just expected it would happen when her mother and father were both elderly with wrinkles and gray hair. Not once had she ever thought that her parents would be taken away from the world while they still had plenty of their life ahead of them.

Her parents could have celebrated future anniversaries and birthdays together. They could have been there when Santana graduated from both high school and college. When she introduced them to her significant other, when she announced that she was getting married, when she had her first child. Her parents could have been there for it all.

Santana felt her bottom lip quiver. She clenched her eyes shut to stop herself from crying. She didn't want to do this, not now. She took a breath to calm herself down. She waited a moment before slowly opening her eyes. When she was sure that no tears were going to come, she let out a small sigh of relief.

Just as Santana ran a hand through her hair, something familiar caught her eye. She turned her head slightly to the side and her gaze was met with the picture frame of her and her parents that was placed on the dresser. She simply stared at it for a minute, then she got up from where she was sitting. Before she was aware of what she was doing, she started walking towards the dresser.

Santana stopped in front of the picture and peered down at it. She took it in her hands and held it up to eye level. Santana could feel something swell in her chest. She must have looked at that picture a hundred times since she found it in her bag yesterday and each time she did, she just felt at ease. It was almost as if the picture had some sort of calming factor.

Santana moved back to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. She set the picture in her lap and stared at it. Everything had been so much different back then. She was a young girl without a care in the world. With little regard to rules, her parents had to constantly remind her to be smart and careful.

She would always act as if she didn't need her parents to take care of her, even though she knew that she did because she was just a child at the time. Her mother took pride in the fact that she had a daughter who was independent. She would always tell Santana that she would grow up to be a confident and strong-willed person.

Suddenly, Santana took an intake of breath as something finally dawned on her. Her parents wanted her to be strong, and strong was exactly what she needed to be. There was a reason she always hated crying when she was younger. Crying always made her feel small and vulnerable. That's not what Santana wanted to be.

No matter how hard something was, Santana wanted to keep a brave face and power through it. She didn't want anything to ever break her. Santana looked down at the picture once more and felt something stir deep inside her.

The funeral for her parents was going to be tomorrow, and she was going to do one last favor for them. She knew that her parents wouldn't like seeing her so broken and in tears, so she would be strong. For them.

After having a thorough battle of wills in her head, Santana stood up from the bed and put the picture frame back on the dresser like it had been before. Just like Ms. Chase had suggested, she did want to get her rest, but there was something she needed to do first. She walked towards the door and left out of the room.

Santana headed down the hallway until she was standing in front of Ms. Chase's bedroom door. It was slightly cracked, just enough for her to see inside a little, but she still knocked.

"Come in," Santana heard. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Ms. Chase was seated in a chair at a desk with papers spread across it. "Are you alright, Santana?" She asked.

"Yeah, um, I'm okay," the brunette replied. "I just needed to ask you something."

"Hmm, what is it?"

Santana took a small breath before answering. "Would you mind driving me somewhere?"

"Oh, sure, hon," Ms. Chase answered like it was no big deal. "Where?"

Santana bit her lip. She was sure she could do this. "My...house."

Once the words were out, she felt as if a large weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Ms. Chase looked at her with her eyebrows raised. Santana figured that the older woman was surprised she had been asked that question. Honestly, Santana was surprised she had asked that.

"It's just, I realized that I don't have anything to wear for tomorrow," Santana clarified. That much was true. She had just noticed that the only clothes she had with her weren't fit for a funeral.

Suddenly, Ms. Chase grinned and let out a small chuckle. "You know, I've been waiting for you to say something about that."

Santana furrowed her eyebrows together. "You have?"

"Yes," Ms. Chase admitted.

"Oh," Santana muttered as the older woman stood up from the chair she was sitting in.

"I'd be happy to drive you to your house, Santana, but only if you're positive you want me to. I know it's hard for you. I mean, we could always stop by a department store and get you something to wear, if you want."

Santana glanced down at the floor then back up at Ms. Chase. "I know it's gonna be hard, but how am I going to get over it if I sit around moping all the time? I have to make an effort to get through this."

Ms. Chase stayed silent for a moment, then gave Santana a warm smile. "Alright. If you believe that you can do this, then what are we waiting for? Let me get my keys and then we can go."

Santana nodded. "Okay." She then left out of Ms. Chase's room and went back to her own to slip her shoes on.

She was going back to her house. She knew she could do this. She knew she could be strong.

* * *

"So, Brittany, what do you think?"

Brittany looked towards Victoria who had a smile on her face. The woman had just finished showing Brittany around, and like she had said, it had taken a bit of time, but the blonde didn't complain. After going around the entire building, they were now back at the front near the receptionist desk.

"It was really nice," Brittany answered.

"You liked it?" Victoria asked.

"Yeah, I mean, there's some great stuff here. I especially liked the lounge area where all those kids were at. They all looked so comfortable, like there was nothing bothering them. You don't really see that with people who have problems in their life," Brittany said.

"Ah, yeah, that's one of my favorite places too," Victoria responded. "Sometimes when all the kids have gone home, Marissa and I go in there to relax and we just feel like nothing can get to us. There's just something about that room that calms people down."

"Maybe it's the bean bag chairs and the air hockey table," Brittany shrugged.

Victoria laughed. "Yeah, those were my ideas. I didn't think kids would enjoy sitting in hard, plastic chairs and with no form of entertainment."

"Yeah, they get enough of that while at school," Brittany said. Victoria laughed again and this time Brittany joined in.

She really liked hanging around with Victoria. Despite the professional clothing, Brittany learned that the woman wasn't completely serious all the time. She liked to laugh and joke around and Brittany enjoyed that.

"So, it was a pleasure having you here today, Brittany. Feel free to come back whenever you want," Victoria told her.

"Oh, um..." Brittany hesitated. "Look, I really do like it here, but I don't think I have the time to, you know, join the center or anything. Between work and school, I'm pretty much busy a lot of the time. I decided to come today because I have the weekend off work, but I don't know how often I'd be able to show up."

Victoria looked at her with her forehead furrowed. Brittany was afraid that she was upset, but then a smile formed on the woman's lips. "That's alright. In fact, I wasn't really expecting you to join."

"You weren't?" Brittany asked, now slightly confused.

"Well, at first maybe," Victoria stated. "But about halfway through the tour, I realized that you don't really need any advice or help like the kids that come here do."

"You actually think that?"

Brittany was shocked, to say the least. After years and years of getting bullied, apparently she didn't need any help? How did Victoria come to that conclusion?

"Brittany, you seem like a nice, considerate, well put together person. I know I hardly know you, but you look like you're a completely stable girl. Sure, you may have your off days where everything just sucks, but everyone has those. That doesn't mean we all need professional help."

Brittany let Victoria's words sink in. "Wow, um, thank you for saying that. I never thought of myself that way."

"You're welcome, and don't worry about not having the time to come here regularly. Just show up whenever you have the time and you can just hang around," Victoria assured her.

"Just hang around? Will I get in trouble for that? I mean, I don't want your boss to get mad because some random teenager who isn't a member here or who doesn't work here keeps showing up."

"My boss?" Victoria smirked. "You mean, Marissa?"

Brittany raised her eyebrows. "She's your boss?"

"Yeah, and don't worry. I'll talk to her about it. Besides, I'm sure she won't mind," she said.

"Really?" Brittany asked.

"Mhmm," Victoria nodded. "In fact, I bet she'd love to see you again and get to know a bit about you. Actually...you said you have the weekend off work, right?"

Brittany nodded.

"Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

"Well, no," Brittany answered.

"If you can, why don't you come back tomorrow around three-ish? Marissa will be on her lunch break, so she won't be busy and you could meet her again then." Victoria looked at Brittany expectantly.

It sounded like an okay proposal. If Victoria was right and Marissa actually did want to speak with the blonde again, then it couldn't hurt.

"Will you be there?" Brittany asked. She wasn't exactly nervous to see Marissa, but if Victoria was there, then maybe things wouldn't quickly turn awkward. Besides, the two women seemed to get along just fine.

"Yeah, sure," Victoria replied. "So you'll come?"

Brittany grinned. "I don't see why not."

"Great!" Victoria exclaimed. "I'll see you then."

"I guess I should be going then. I'll see you and Marissa tomorrow."

"See you later," Victoria gave Brittany a small wave which she returned.

With one last goodbye, Brittany turned away from the woman and headed out of the building. She walked down the street with a grin on her face and a new anticipation for the next day.

* * *

**You know, I would have updated this chapter much earlier if writer's block hadn't hit me hard while I was trying to work on it. Hopefully, the same thing won't happen while I'm writing next chapter. Speaking of next chapter, the much awaited funeral for Santana's parents takes place and that girl is determined to be as strong as she can be.**

**As always, thank you all for reading and please tell me what you thought! **


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